Justin McElroy and Tamara Baluja at CBC (in their Metro Matters update) think the lead mayoral candidates are, well, boring.
… there are two people who have been at or near the top of the polls for the last five months: Kennedy Stewart and Ken Sim.
They’re genial men, not prone to hyperbole, with mild social media profiles. …
These are not the sort of people or ideas that typically light the political world on fire.
And yet, it’s Stewart and Sim who top most polls. Those with bigger ideas for what a city government could do (particularly Hector Bremner, David Chen and Wai Young) still have time to galvanize the greater public, but time is quickly running out.
Is it because Vancouverites aren’t as desperate for dramatic change as some thought? The impact of campaign finance laws limiting advertising, and therefore public awareness? Or just the natural result of most campaigns, where voters tend to cluster around the least controversial candidates?
(Odd that they would omit Shauna Sylvester from their list … but they’d probably say the same about her.)
Let me add another reason why: too much respect! The candidates, including those for councillor, are largely decent people who mostly seem to respect if not actually like each other. So far, there hasn’t been the ad hominen attacks that typically draw attention, especially from media looking to personalize a race.
Frankly, I’m surprised by the lack of animosity – so far. In a close race, in the absence of resources to purchase profile through advertising, it’s tempting to gratuitously attack opponents to gain attention. Not much of that has happened, though apparently there’s dirt being circulated in the muddier parts of social media.
Indeed, the opposite of animosity seems to be occurring. Just watching the candidates interact, there’s often noticeable camaraderie.
Christine Boyle and Shauna Sylvester, arm-in-arm before facing off as the finalists in ‘Last Candidate Standing.’ (Christine won.)
When talking with Sylvester and Ken Sim after the mayoral forum hosted by the Downtown Vancouver BIA, they affirmed that they’d hope to involve the other at City Hall in some capacity. And many of the councillor candidates, both independent and party-oriented, intend to meet for a beer after the campaign.
Is it just part of our polite Canadian culture? It hasn’t necessarily been so in the past. I think it may have more to do with the number of credible independents involved, with less of a stake in partisanship. I’m sure it has something to do with the number of women in all capacities. (Note in the image to the right, there are eight women and two men.)
Or this civility might just be temporary. Some of that underground dirt may make it to the surface. As tension rises, tempers will too.
But I was wrong in my expectation that this might be a nastier campaign than normal, given the need to gain profile in a close race. I hope I can say the same by the end.
Refreshing to see. Not the case in Victoria where emotions and rancor run high and only one woman running for mayor, the incumbent, Lisa Helps.
I think it’s very Canadian. A big influence on Canadian culture is being next door to a giant and observing it’s movements. We’ve been watching the US political campaigns get ugly for the last 30 years. It’s now very embarrassing for them. We don’t want to put ourselves in the same position.
We also observe that divisive styles of politics just doesn’t work. A few people benefit but for the most part there are so many unhappy people that it’s not worth it. Some people criticize inclusiveness but you gotta ask them, what other choice do we have?
Unless the disenfranchised all die off completely they’ll still be around and still be demanding to be included in things. That can be annoying for the enfranchised. The only way for this annoyance to go away is to not disenfranchise them.
In city politics, this election there will be possibly a mix of parties and independents in Council. They can’t all dig in their heels for their position. Nothing would get done. They’re going to need to work together. In a city with an electorate who have all sorts of friends from different ethnic backgrounds, interests, etc., campaigning in a divisive style just won’t get you many votes.
I have to agree with Gordon, and with the Straight’s Charlie Smith that Shauna Sylvester is head and shoulders above the other mayoral candidates on the articulation of policy. Her background experience as a facilitator and consensus builder can do a mayor only good on a potentially diverse council. Her dancing partner (Christine Boyle) is also a council candidate with One City, a new party with well thought out policies refreshingly clear of rhetoric and platitudes. In a Trumpesque context, imagine articulate, intelligent women in leadership a big city on the continent.
I agree that there are some very good independent candidates, many again with detailed policy initiatives. One was an international diplomat in his prior life who managed to secure strong endorsements from both the left and the right (Rob McDowell). So imagine a council with the independents in the majority and the old party slates melted down to the nub along with their attache cases filled with private influence money.
There will never be a better time for an independent councillor to advance an agenda with the support of other independents. My hope is for some ambitious initiatives that serve the working majority of the city to get passed.
My personal wish-list would be for a free opioid substitutes program, in partic. THC/CBD type products for people who need help with addiction. I think it could have an impact on petty theft/b&e’s/bike theft — hassles which impact lots of us on a regular basis.