It’s almost completely an NPA news day in the upcoming 2018 Vancouver civic election. But the party scene is getting more interesting than that alone.
As a break from these routine lists, how about this goofy and completely made-up item:
Fantasy Headline: Independents Form Affiliation to Govern City:
There are so many people running, splitting votes into sliver-thin segments, and so many as Independents, it’s remotely possible that Independents could dominate Council and take the Mayor’s chair. Starting with credible, well-polling mayoral candidates Shauna Sylvester and Kennedy Stewart, and continuing to seven Council candidates (so far) including Adrian Crook, Rob McDowell, and 5 others.
It’s a tantalizing thought experiment. No back room machinations (no back room at all); a billionaire-free zone; so many positive points.
But what do they call themselves? A few thoughts from the Department of Political Oxymorons (following the examples of the dearly loved “Progressive Conservatives” and the ever-accurate “Non-Partisan Association”) :
- The Bloc of Surprised Independents?
- United Independents
- The Non-Party Association of Independents?
- The Autonomous Governing Collective?
- The Un-Aligned Caucus?
Your thoughts welcomed.
NPA Candidates
NPA leaders announce Council and Park Board candidates (with bios). (Thanks to @j_mcelroy). (*) incumbent
Council:
- Melissa De Genova (*)
- Sarah Kirby-Yung (* Park Board)
- Lisa Dominato (* School Board)
- Rebecca Bligh
- Justin P. Goodrich
- David Grewal
- Colleen Hardwick (no bike lanes in Kits Beach Park)
- Kathy McGarrigle
- Francisco (Jojo) Quimpo.
- Elizabeth Ball (*) undecided
Park Board:
- John Coupar (*)
- Casey Crawford
- Tricia Barker
- Pall Beesla
- Ann-Marie Copping
School Board:
- Fraser Ballantyne (*)
- More candidates t.b.a.
Word Cloud for NPA Council candidates: note the word “house” and its derivative “housing” appear in the bios. Words that do not appear: Zone, rezone, density, climate, pipeline.
And the final word today goes to the prolific and highly quotable Charlie Smith at the Straight, who traces the NPA’s history over several decades:
Will the NPA continue to be hobbled by millionaires and billionaires?
Sim has been practically invisible since he was nominated in early June. Perhaps he’s holed up in the NPA’s new and spacious office at Ontario and Broadway studying council policies in advance of getting out in public.
Soon, the NPA is going to unveil a slate of candidates. I expect that there won’t be a public nomination meeting. The backroom operators, not the members, will likely decide whose names will be on the ballot . . .
If the NPA doesn’t hold a nomination meeting [Ed: it didn’t], it’s going to be easy for its opponents to characterize it as the billionaires’ party.
There’s more than enough evidence from previous elections to drive this point home. And that could be political poison going into the fall campaign.
Right now, Sim appears to be doing okay in the polls, but that’s before his opponents have had a chance to frame him and his party in the minds of the public.
Do Vancouverites really want Peter Armstrong or Chip Wilson running their city?
Sim is going to need to come up with a decent response to that question because it’s surely going to be asked of him in upcoming mayoral-candidate debates.