Let’s keep it real: Vancouver IS a mess!
Whoever thought the day would come when: Vancouver residents don’t feel SAFE just walking along their neighborhood streets … even during daytime … or just going to work; where tourists, shoppers, delivery people, even women and seniors get violently assaulted on a regular basis; where druggies and crazies now run amok daily, not just on the downtown eastside (should not be ACCEPTABLE there either) but in every city neighbourhood … even on the seawall; where shops, restaurants and groceries are ripped off, robbed, shoplifted with impunity; where hundreds of homeless (MANY not from Vancouver, but from other parts of BC or from right across Canada) are allowed to put up TENTS and SHELTERS on city SIDEWALKS and stay there, even when the Fire Marshall says it’s DANGEROUS; where city facilities and infrastructure have taken a beating, suffer from under-funding, and where so many streets and sidewalks are in terrible shape, overly-patched, under-maintained and just plain shabby.
While city taxes have kept going UP, UP, UP every year .. well beyond the cost of living!
I put the blame for ALL of this on the doorstep of Vancouver City Hall, where I believe inept ideologically-driven FAR left extremists seized control of Council four years ago, installed a sympatico top administration … and have now almost destroyed this once urban jewel.
And don’t even get me started on the wacko policies and havoc wreaked on the city by the radical extremists on the Vancouver Parks Board.
The PEOPLE of Vancouver are now paying a terrible price for ALL of this … suffering a badly declining quality of life while facing rapidly rising taxes, year after year.
Vancouver needs a NEW start, a NEW City Council and NEW policies to repair, rebuild and restore Vancouver’s beauty, civility and safety.
But who?
Well, first, let’s keep it real: most of us don’t take the time to pay much attention to the details of civic politics: who voted for what, when.
Kudos to CBC reporter Justin McElroy , who did a terrific, first-class job of keeping track for us … and laid out the voting records of every existing Vancouver City Councilor on major issues in recent years.
Take a look at: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-council-mayor-votes-1.6573186.
For Mayor, I believe Ken Sim (ABC) deserves a chance to show us what he can do. I feel Stewart has been a very weak, out-of-touch, ideologically-wounded Mayor: he has to go!
For Council, I zeroed in on FOUR issues I found of particular interest … and here are how Justin recorded Council the votes:
To spend $1.5 Million to study possible road mobility pricing: FOR, Mayor Kennedy Stewart, Councilors Christine Boyle, Jean Swanson, Pete Fry, Adrienne Carr and Rebecca Bligh; AGAINST, Councilors Lisa Dominato, Kirby-Yung, Melissa De Genova, Colleen Hardwick; Councilor Michael Wiebe declared a conflict and abstained.) MOTION PASSED.
To institute Parking Permits across the city: FOR, Councilors Boyle, Swanson, Fry, Wiebe, Carr; AGAINST, Mayor Stewart, Councilors Bligh, Dominato, Kirby-Yung, De Genova, Hardwick. DEFEATED.
To approve the Broadway Plan: FOR, Mayor Stewart, Councilors Boyd, Fry, Carr, Bligh, Dominato, Kirby-Yung; AGAINST, Councilors Swanson, Wiebe, De Genova, Hardwick. PASSED. And,
To approve the Broadway/Arbutus Tower project: FOR, Mayor Stewart, Councilors Boyle, Swanson, Fry, Wiebe, Carr, Bligh, Dominato; AGAINST, Councilors Hardwick Kirby-Yung, De Genova.
After looking at how they voted on these and other issues: I will definitely NOT vote for incumbents Stewart, Boyle, Swanson, Fry, Bligh, Dominato, Wiebe or Carr.
No! I believe THEY have created or worsened or failed to deal with Vancouver’s worst problems. No! They do NOT deserve another term.
That leaves only incumbent Councilors De Genova (NPA) and Kirby-Yung (ABC) who I will be voting for.
My own NEWCOMER choices for the remaining 8 Councilors will be: Mike Klassen (ABC); Brian Montague (ABC); Peter Meiszner (ABC); Bill Tieleman (TEAM); Cleta Brown (TEAM); Cinnamon Bhayani (NPA); Morning Lee (NPA); and, Ken Charko (NPA).
I think that’s a good mix of community, ideas and hopefully a group that would work together to take back control of the city and restore Vancouver’s safety, growth and livability.
And then there’s the Parks Board.
It’s actually very simple: the ONLY incumbent who deserves to be re-elected is Tricia Barker (TEAM).
Throw the rest of the bums out! In my view, the most incompetent, divisive, ruinous group of Parks Board members I and three million Vancouver-area residents (families, seniors, handicapped) have witnessed … and suffered under … since I moved to Vancouver in 1972.
Who should replace them?
Just DON’T vote for ANY Park Board candidates who have GREEN or COPE or VISION as part of their credentials. I blame them for the sour, dour, terrible state of affairs under their jurisdiction.
Take your pick from those running for ABC, NPA or TEAM: that will give us the BEST chance of restoring sanity to Vancouver parks, community centers, pools, beaches … and maybe even get the currently-canceled kiddies’ Halloween Ghost train back on the rails!
Harv Oberfeld
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