Media and arts pundit Ray Tomlin at VanRamblings has written about the NPA’s run at the 2018 Vancouver civic election. It’s an insider’s view of the civic political party, its dynamics and its processes.
Rambling indeed, even digressive. But also fascinating and informative.
A few snippets:
In fact, [Peter] Armstrong played more than a pivotal role in the selection of Ken Sim as the Vancouver Non-Partisan Association 2018 Mayoral candidate — he found Sim, told Sim he could make him the next Mayor, hired a team to sign up a phantom force of 1,250 new NPA members, and made sure that nearly 80% of these newly dragooned phantom NPA members would arrive at the Hellenic Hall to cast their NPA Mayoral ballot on Sunday, virtually none of whom were present for Sim’s victory speech on Sunday evening.
Sim’s victory was Armstrong’s victory, in one of the shrewdest political calculations our town has ever seen, the win for Ken Sim turning the 2018 Vancouver municipal election into what it’s been for seeming time immemorial in our city: a two-way dog fight, the same ol’, same ol’ dark political race, NPA vs Vision Vancouver we’ve seen for the past 10 years.
With one notable exception this civic election year: in 2018, Peter Armstrong means to achieve electoral victory with Ken Sim at the helm, and carry the Non-Partisan Association to a smashing, perhaps even overwhelming win on Vancouver civic voting day, Saturday, October 22nd.
Now, all Peter has to do is leave well enough alone, stay away from the party, fund the saturation 3rd party advertising that will sting the airwaves and your social media feeds, and let Sim ride to victory, carrying a surfeit of NPA candidates with him. Can Peter do that? Can he keep away? If he knows what’s good for him, he will. But does he? Only time will tell.
. . . Hate to bring you down to earth, Peter — that’s Squamish Nation hereditary chief Ian Campbell above, Vision Vancouver’s Mayoral candidate, just as smart as they come, and if you think putting Ken Sim up against the accomplished and humane, and connects-like-mad with the electorate, who voters in Vancouver — well, the ones with a conscience, anyway — are going to vote for in droves, that Ian Campbell ain’t gonna win, ain’t gonna be Vancouver’s next Mayor, it might be time to give your head a shake.
