So how did it go?
Yes, Vancouver 1st, and the Coalition evaporated, thank god, so the remaining boogy-man for me is NPA. They don't represent my interests typically, and the secured half of the council and some of the specific councilors are not the co-operative ones.. I truly hope Ken Sim (though I like him as a person) does not succeed in his recount attempts.
As I go through this process I find I'm less concerned with my bias against NPA on the school and parks board, but somewhat concerned about the council.
Mayor:
Kennedy Stewart was my #2 choice and I am disappointed Shauna Sylvester didn't win, and that she can't just be a councilor as a consolation. I think we needed her. If a recount means Sim wins things will be very, very, different,.. not only would NPA have 1/2 the council, the tie breaker vote too. I will feel partially responsible because I do think the vote was split and I convinced several people I know to go with Sylvester.A big thanks to Hector Bremner for splitting the right! (scary that Young beat him though..). The Nazi beat rollergirl...also scary (and there are people below both of them?!)
Councillors:
Scary shit. Aside form the 5 NPA folks, all of the other 5 were part of my slate.Let's first look at my slate that didn't make it:
Tanya Paz - Vision curse for sure, but also maybe her personality. She 100% should be my top person given her stance on sustainable and logical transportation but I never felt moved by her as much as the data she presented and my alignment with it.Heather Deal - I liked her for all the good things Vision did. With that party snuffed I think some momentum in key areas will be lost. I'm disappointed.
Blythe, Yan, O'keefe - These people deserved a shot. All of them were champions for average citizens (even more on the marginalized, mid-low income of us), imagine them in stead of 3 of these NPAs.
Elected, but I wish wasn't and not by my vote!:
Because they are so close to a majority, I just wish I knew how much guidance NPA council members get from NPA HQ (if there is such a thing), or if the good ones will just be free to vote with their hearts. From their history, the term "Non-Partisan" is not accurate, but there weren't enough of them to really say for sure how that would work on a larger scale. We do know that none of the NPAs responded to HUB's cycle infrastructure questions (At least Wei Young is honest), so I can't help but think that they were ordered not to do so and it shows they don't have the guts to stand behind what they think, or contradict their party if it means votes.
Colleen Hardwick - it is not fair to judge someone on their inability to smile like us mammals, but there, I did it (she should work on that, it is hard to trust her!). In all seriousness, I appreciate her roots in Vancouver and backing of heritage initiatives. What little I know makes me a bit worried she may be more of an accountant and less city planner but I did see her try to revive talk about the LRT style transit option on North side of False Creek which I support. I'm leaning towards thinking she is only neutral level on the NPA "bad stuff" .
Lisa Dominato - I feel she is one of the good eggs that lost her way and joined the wrong party. If not for her NPA ties, I'd have considered voting for her from what little I know.
Rebecca Bligh - In many ways her bio and experience is less righty than I might think but I feel her work experience in general do not compare to the resumes of many that ran so wonder if she would have won as an independent. She seems pleasant enough but when I see a candidate with a very thin platform AND resume.. I think they are just pale comparisons to the Jean Swansons etc. of the world.
Sarah Kirby-Yung - My first exposure to her was a post of a purposely unflattering picture of Shauna Sylvester. This is the stuff I feel is more prevalent on the right than left (of course I do this stuff,.. but I'm not running..). Nothing on paper is a red flag but I have never had a good vibe about her when seeing her speak. Her resume and experience with tourism are assets though.
I aim to keep an open mind and hope these people are reasonable despite what I cannot understand,.. why they can associate with some of the people in their party and even their history.
Park Board:
5 of the 7 elected here were part of my slate. Clearly noone took Mathew Kagis of the Work Less Party seriously (I wondered if his association with that party might burn him). Similarly, the Vision brand probably hurt Cameron Zubko.The 2 other seats went to NPA people and this was one area where I felt NPA wasn't so plainly right-wing but with these specific candidates was that the case? Of note, the last board had 3 NPA people so it seems they may have lost ground here.
Tricia Barker - I like what I see about her generally. She is focused on being a voice for seniors and we need that, plus she has a non-psychopath smile unlike some of the other people in her party. In her social media she did post a sunset picture with a Mobi bikeshare bike in the background so hopefully that means something. Like all NPA candidates, she refused to even reply to the questions posed by the cycling coalition (which concerns me). Otherwise, no red flags.
John Coupar - This guy has experience on the board which I like. Parks commission minutes show that he seems to play nice with others and his #1 area of focus in his campaign was "horticultural excellence". Coupar was the one that drove a revitalization initiative for the Bloedel Conservatory and his social media feed indicates a number of things he supports that I also feel strongly about: public pools, historic buildings, honouring the original names of Vancouver places, and even ensuring continuity of nostalgic institutions like the Kits showboat. The only knocks against him I can find are no stance on bikes, and the party he joined.
School Board:
First thought: I'm disappointed Carrie Bercic didn't get in. 4 of the 7 people I picked (I had 2 undecided) got in and from a party perspective I probably cannot complain about most of the rest... but I could be happier with the individuals from those parties. One other comment, at least the school board doesn't look like a random sampling of Scandanvian citizens,.. (like the all white council!)Green - 3
NPA - 3
COPE - 1
Vision - 1
OneCity - 1
My few comments here.
Allan Wong - Despite his past importance here, squeaked in by a super slim margin (and I"m glad)/ Time to go independent Allan, your low score here can only be explained by the your toxic party brand. Erin Arnold was not so lucky which is too bad.
The Greens - I'm glad Gonzalez got in, but I feel there are stronger candidates than Chan-Pedley in several parties. Clearly the voters really like Janet Fraser,..wow.
Jennifer Reddy - I voted a OneCity slate because they oppose private schools getting public money (amongst other things). She is great, but I wish her teammates had made it.
Barb Parrott - I just discovered now that she is undegoing cancer treatment, I wish her the best of luck. This woman is the Jean Swanson of the school board regarding poverty and for that I'm glad she is there to champion that. Her biography shows what a powerhouse she is in that arena. I remember now why it was so important to vote for her.
The NPAs - 1/3 of the school board (but thankfully no Coalition folks n the further right), and none of these people were supported by any teacher based slate that I saw. I don't know, but when I need a knee replaced, I talk to a surgeon,.. for me same goes for teachers...they work with kids and aren't some parent with too much time on their hands. That said,.. these are not those people and I kind of wonder if they might balance out the fiscal responsibility of the board. All of them prioritize inclusion (first nations and SOGI for example), and none of them in their public platform, push the "more options" mantra which means all of us funding private schools for the already rich. Lets look at the individuals.
- Oliver Hansen - Lawyer, businessman, parent. Social media shows he really is about art and inclusion.. (just pick a better party buddy)
- Carmen Cho - nothing to wrote home about, and no social media presence at all,.. she's a ghost. I struggle understanding how she got in except maybe her party brand and the other 2 NPA non-elected just seemed less to people's liking. On paper, there were way better choices than her outside of NPA in any direction.
- Fraser Ballantyne - Was the chair of the board and has many years in this sector,.. many. I have a nagging memory of hearing something negative about this guy but I can't find any red flags. His wife was a music teacher which wins him points for me.
We'll see, if they all play nice, this could be a really nicely mixed board. I actually am starting to think I like the NPA is this area for their frequent mentions of funding allocation and governance.
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