Vancouver Mayoral Election - 2008 [Archive]

Stingray2004

Nov 16, 2007, 2:56 AM

i hate to say it, but it has a lot to do with his appearance - his wheelchair and the way he talks makes him look really really weak.

Hmmmmm, that may be a bit of an unfair statement. I have always found Sullivan to be intelligent and quite eloquent in his media interviews and I respect him, irrespective of his handicap. Frankly, he has also been the target of some unfair press, for whatever reason.

I also kinda think that he is an improvement upon the more bland Philip Owen or Larry Campbell, who reportedly had a severe temperment.

In any event, Carole Taylor, is apparently not happy with the "politics" of Victoria and Sun political columnist Vaughn Palmer has eluded a couple of times that she may not run next time around.

In media interviews, she has not denied rumours about an interest in the mayoralty and may want to wind her career down as mayor during the Olympics. (BTW, her husband, Art Phillips, was Vancouver's mayor during the 1970's under the reformist TEAM banner.) She was also the last Vancouver councillor to win under the independent banner.

Gregor Robertson has also hinted that he may leave provincial politics and has also been involved in civic issues in that regard.

Next year will certainly be interesting if all three decide to throw their hats into the ring for the mayor's chair as I believe that they are all worthy candidates for the position.

deasine

Nov 16, 2007, 3:03 AM

Hmmmmm, that may be a bit of an unfair statement. I have always found Sullivan to be intelligent and quite eloquent in his media interviews and I respect him, irrespective of his handicap. Frankly, he has also been the target of some unfair press, for whatever reason.

I also kinda think that he is an improvement upon the more bland Philip Owen or Larry Campbell, who reportedly had a severe temperment.

In any event, Carole Taylor, is apparently not happy with the "politics" of Victoria and Sun political columnist Vaughn Palmer has eluded a couple of times that she may not run next time around.

Gregor Robertson has also hinted that he may leave provincial politics and has also been involved in civic issues in that regard.

I agree... it might be because of his wheelchair. In any case, when Sullivan waved the flags in the Torino Olympics, it made Vancouverites proud to live in Vancouver. It also shows that Vancouver is a very open city - there aren't many mayors or leaders in the world who are in a wheelchair.

HAHA Taylor must not like James XD

mr.x

Nov 16, 2007, 3:26 AM

I agree... it might be because of his wheelchair. In any case, when Sullivan waved the flags in the Torino Olympics, it made Vancouverites proud to live in Vancouver. It also shows that Vancouver is a very open city - there aren't many mayors or leaders in the world who are in a wheelchair.

HAHA Taylor must not like James XD

i have to say i was a very proud Vancouverite when he waved that flag in Torino (though i must say the Italians did a poor job in staging that flag handover). And Sam did inspire many in front of a tv audience of half a billion.

204

Nov 16, 2007, 3:36 AM

Raymond Louie :tup:

MistyMountainHop

Nov 16, 2007, 4:41 AM

The BEST Candidate:

http://www.thelavinagency.com/images/bios/Campbell-2006.jpg

johnjimbc

Nov 16, 2007, 7:35 PM

As a newer resident, I was so proud to see Sam Sullivan on stage in Torino.

I know that's not a reason to vote for anyone, but the fact that he was there in front of the world in a wheelchair, representing the city, was amazing. I thought it represented the city - and Canada - very well.

I don't vote for the people who seem "strongest" in image. If anything, the "image" of strength is a bit frightening to me. I'd rather vote for the individual with the best, most comprehensive and open vision, and the effective, practical skills to address initiatives and issues.

It has been my experience that candidates who are out to "show" they are strong leaders are typically covering deficiencies in these essential skills.

That's what I'll be looking for anyway.

excel

Nov 16, 2007, 8:39 PM

The BEST Candidate:

http://www.thelavinagency.com/images/bios/Campbell-2006.jpg

Full on gangster.

Stingray2004

Nov 30, 2007, 8:12 PM

Carole Taylor confirms she is not running in next provincial election
Nov, 30 2007 - 11:30 AM

VICTORIA/CKNW(AM980) - Carole Taylor has confirmed she will not be running in the next provincial election.
The news comes on the same day she is releasing her quarterly update.

She has now confirmed she will not be running again in 2009.

She says she loves public policy, but frankly doesn't like the nonsense that comes with partisan politics.

The big question then, what will she do?

Will she consider running for the mayor of Vancouver?

Carole Taylor confirms she has been asked by many people and has had many phone calls and meetings with people pressuring her to run for the mayor of Vancouver.

She is telling those folks what she is telling the public: she has made absolutely no decision about what she will do in the future.

All she has decided is she won't run again in 2009.

She'll still be finance minister, assuming the premier doesn't shuffle her out, to present the next provincial budget, which will be in February of next year.

We are now looking at a 2.1 billion dollar surplus for the fiscal year, half a billion dollars higher than expected but a lot of warning signs on the horizon---exports are way down, 4.1 percent this year, that's the worst performance in Canada, all due to the housing meltdown in the US.

mr.x

Nov 30, 2007, 9:14 PM

Looks out she's heading down the road for mayor...look out Sully!

she has been a great finance minister.

mr.x

Nov 30, 2007, 9:59 PM

Taylor won't run again
Finance minister to announce she's leaving provincial politics amid buzz over mayoral run

Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Friday, November 30, 2007

Finance Minister Carole Taylor, once touted as the woman who would succeed Gordon Campbell as premier of B.C., will announce today that she will not run for re-election for the B.C. Liberal party in 2009.

Taylor told the B.C. Liberal caucus Wednesday that she would not be running, causing widespread speculation that she might be preparing for a run as the next Vancouver mayor.

Inside the backrooms of the Non-Partisan Association, which has the majority on city council, rumours had been flying for months that some of the city's biggest players had been courting Taylor and preparing an organization in case she decides to run for the job in next fall's civic election.

Taylor has been telling those who inquire that when she receives those calls, "a little piece of me can't say no."

Taylor, who is married to former Vancouver mayor Art Phillips, informed Campbell of her decision before the caucus meeting.

Campbell is on a trade mission to Asia. Reached in Hong Kong, he said he was happy she would finish her term as finance minister and MLA.

"I'm sorry to see her go," he said, adding that Taylor had been urging him to run again.

He said that when he first asked her to run for the Liberals, "I wasn't asking her to run eight years. I was asking her to run four years. Obviously, she'll be missed. "

Taylor's decision to leave the provincial arena, which she is expected to announce at a press conference today, all but guarantees Campbell will make a bid for a third term as B.C premier, something last accomplished by Socred premier Bill Bennett.

When Taylor was drafted by Campbell, who was struggling in the polls, recovering from his impaired driving imbroglio in Hawaii and fighting to rebound from voters' views that he had moved too far to the right in his first term, Taylor was the perfect political antidote for what ailed him.

A former beauty queen and federal Liberal, Taylor had built a resume that showed she had both a high IQ and political savvy.

She had served as an independent Vancouver city councillor, she was a national television host, and she was a seasoned executive who ran Ports Canada and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Aside from being Campbell's premier-in-waiting, she was even mooted as a potential prime minister when federal Liberals discussed her as a possible leadership candidate after prime minister Paul Martin left.

Now, even the Senate may await, with vacancies from the red chamber in B.C. -- including that of retiring senator Pat Carney -- needing to be filled.

Taylor will continue her role as finance minister, bringing through another budget in February that is expected to post more surpluses. That will add to her reputation as one of the most successful -- and moderate -- finance ministers in B.C., who managed to settle five-year labour agreements with the province's public sector unions, an accomplishment that escaped Campbell in the first term.

But there is also a trace of unhappiness in Taylor's departure.

Campbell's decision to stay on a third term was probably a disappointment to this ambitious woman. It meant that if she were to wait for her time, undoubtedly on the front bench, she would find her political-biological clock ticking away.

By the end of a third Campbell term, she would be over 65. It's not an age she shows, but the question arises whether a woman who is a multi-millionaire -- with formidable political, social and business ties that straddle the country and continent -- would allow such political capital to languish on the front lines.

As well, Taylor has not been happy with Campbell in recent months. The premier's office has become centralized and she was disappointed by the departure of her deputy minister, who left a few months ago to become the CEO of Vancity.

Taylor also leaves at a time when things may get much more problematic for a finance minister. The U.S. may be headed into a recession, which will inevitably have a spillover effect on B.C.'s economy.

As well, the green budget that Campbell has mandated -- a set of policies to try to fight global warming -- is one of the most profound shifts in the province's business agenda in generations. As it is implemented, potentially with a U.S. recession on the horizon, the government's surpluses may shrink into the red.

Finally, however, Taylor is doing what the smartest politicians hope for: leaving at her political zenith. She now opens up the possibility that she will be drafted as the next mayor of Vancouver.

That job is filled, of course, by Sam Sullivan. He's a tough and savvy politician himself. Today, it will be up to Taylor whether she plans to take him on. There's probably nobody in the province who could right now -- other than Taylor. As Vancouver magazine noted, after rating the Gucci-wearing Taylor No. 1 power broker in B.C., Carole Taylor can take pretty much any job she desires.

mcernetig@png.canwest.com

djh

Nov 30, 2007, 10:53 PM

Leaving politics because you don't like the political games is a bit lame. What di you expect?
It's the same reason Larry left the mayoral seat. The worst part of Politics is politics. So really, what did you expect? Power corrupts absolutely. Good people go in, Politicians come out.

Escape while you still have blood in your veins, Carole! Do a Larry, jump to the senate! Politics without the Politics (and without the power).

ckkelley

Dec 1, 2007, 6:07 AM

Yeah, she'd be an awesome Mayor.

Stingray2004

Dec 1, 2007, 9:49 AM

Even former Mayor Larry Campbell has approached her to run for mayor under the Vision Vancouver banner, although she is more of a *blue* liberal on the political spectrum and therefore more NPA inclined, although I suspect she would still run under the Independent banner.
_________________________________________________________________

Taylor sets city politics on fire

Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun

Published: Saturday, December 01, 2007

Finance Minister Carole Taylor refused to say on Friday whether she will run for mayor of Vancouver as she formally announced her decision not to run in the next provincial election.

But she also refused to rule it out, a move that has fanned the fire that's been smouldering for five months -- since groups approached her about running -- into a full-scale blaze of political calculation about what this could mean for next November's civic election and current Non-Partisan Association Mayor Sam Sullivan.

"I don't feel like closing any doors until I've been thoughtful about this," said Taylor. "I'm certainly not working with anybody, but I really have been surprised with the number of people from different directions who have approached me."

Taylor also refuted the speculation that she wouldn't run for mayor because she needs to spend time with her husband, former Vancouver mayor Art Phillips, because he's much older than she is and not in good health, or that she wants to retire to the beach house the two recently bought in California.

"I think that's someone who probably doesn't want me to run who's saying that," said Taylor, who said Phillips is in excellent health. She also made it clear that she wants to take on another challenge.

"I think I've got one piece of a career left," she said.

Talk about Taylor as a possible candidate started to circulate in July, when groups began to approach her and ask if she would consider it.

One representative was Sen. Larry Campbell, another former mayor, who asked if she would run with the two-year-old Vision Vancouver party, Vision Coun. Raymond Louie confirmed.

Park board commissioner Allan De Genova, who left the NPA last year after being reprimanded by Sullivan for not being a team player, has been drumming up support for Taylor, along with Campbell.

Since then, a separate group of business people has come up with the money to pay for at least two polls to assess her popularity compared with that of Sullivan, De Genova confirmed in an interview from New York.

The survey asked people who they would vote for if they could choose between Taylor, Sullivan, and two other candidates whose names have also been circulated as possibilities: NDP MLA Gregor Robertson and COPE Coun. David Cadman.

Taylor said she hasn't seen the polls directly, but "I was told the polls were done and they were very positive."

De Genova said he's been working to convince Taylor to run because "I want a mayor who can lead and who can bring people together. I don't want a conniving mayor or a devious mayor."

He said there's been huge response to the idea.

"It's not just business people. A lot of people are interested in Carole."

But it's far from clear sailing for Taylor.

Sullivan has already made it clear he plans to run aggressively and there is little likelihood his party will ditch him in favour of Taylor, barring a scandal. He has been fundraising for his personal campaign steadily, with the next dinner scheduled at the home of developer Francesco Aquilini. The NPA board has also set nomination rules that make it difficult for anyone to challenge him.

Taylor is not an automatic sell to Vision Vancouver, whose members come from the labour movement, the provincial NDP, and the left side of the federal Liberal spectrum, nor is it clear she would run with them.

"Carole would be an improvement over Sam Sullivan," said Louie, who has also been approached by groups in the Chinese and general community to run for mayor. But whether Vision could work with her "would come down to what direction she believes the city should move in."

COPE's Cadman says that if Taylor runs, she will clearly be a Liberal who will have to compete against the Conservative camp's Sullivan, and the candidate who represents the NDP/progressive camp, which he believes he is best positioned to represent.

And if she ran as an independent, the question is where would she get council support to get anything done, since Vancouver mayors don't have the kinds of sweeping powers typical of some American mayors. Aside from the limelight of their office, they have only one vote on the 11-member council.

Rusty Gull

Dec 1, 2007, 3:17 PM

One thing I like about party politics in the City of Vancouver is that councillors don't have to vote in line with their parties. We saw that a lot during the Larry Campbell days, when Larry and Jim Green would sometimes vote differently than their brothers and sisters in COPE.

In other words, Carole Taylor would do just fine if she ran as an independent and won.

mr.x

Dec 1, 2007, 8:46 PM

Finance briefing gets short shrift compared to topic of Taylor's future

Vaughn Palmer, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, December 01, 2007

Mid-morning, the press theatre in the legislature buildings, and senior finance staffers are about to deliver the briefest technical briefing in history.

The finance ministry has just released a 50-page report containing detailed numbers for the second quarter of the budget year.

Any questions ?

Silence in the press theatre.

How about the folks listening via voice-link at a satellite press conference in Vancouver -- do you have a question?

Silence.

Anybody? Anybody?

Silence, giving way to audible tittering.

Finally, Jim Beatty of CTV put the crew from finance out of their misery: "Is Carole Taylor going to run for mayor of Vancouver?"

Laughter all around. End of technical briefing. Staffers pack up their binders and retreat.

Finance Minister Taylor moves to the front of the room for the inevitable barrage of questions about her political future.

---

So it went Friday, as Taylor delivered a budget update against a backdrop of the news that she would not be seeking reelection.

"I would like to think this is not a big news story," she told reporters. But even the leader of the Opposition saw it that way.

Taylor's departure from the government was bad news, Carole James said. She was an independent voice, a voice of "moderation" in government otherwise dominated by a single voice, that of Premier Gordon Campbell.

For her part, Taylor said nothing about the behind-the-scenes stresses in her relationship with the premier. No mention of her frustration over his meddling in the budget. Not a hint of her dismay over those occasions when he treats ministers like minions instead of colleagues.

But she did manage to derail the premier's insinuation -- in a telephone interview from China, where he is on a trade mission -- that "personal reasons" were the sole factor in her decision.

"I am in a very good space personally," she told the reporter who raised the delicate matter of her personal situation.

Husband Art Phillips (Campbell's former boss at Vancouver city hall) is fully retired and dividing his time between tennis and golf. Son married. Daughter in medical school. Taylor is feeling no pressures to reduce the demands on her time.

"I am at the point in my life where I can work pretty hard."

Not the words of someone who was looking to retire quietly into the background. Rather, somebody who wasn't interested in another term at Campbell's cabinet table.

"The right thing for me to do is move on."

Inevitably, there was the question about whether she'd mistakenly positioned herself as successor to a guy who'd decided not to retire.

"I never saw myself as the heir apparent to Gordon Campbell," she replied. Neither did he: "He's supportive of this decision of mine."

Besides, Campbell has given every indication throughout his second term of plans to seek a third term. Retirement was never in the cards, though it sometimes surfaced in media speculation.

So it was back to the question that broke up the technical briefing: Is she going to run for mayor of Vancouver?

She's heard the overtures, seen the polls. But, quite rightly, she says, "I don't have to answer that." Next summer will be better timing politically.

She's rejected a bid for city hall in the past. She doesn't like the scrappy, partisan, personal side of politics, and the next Vancouver civic race will be all of those things. When the time rolls round for her to rule herself in or out, I expect her answer will be "out."

What then? "I would expect that in some way I would continue to be involved in public policy."

But best keep those Crown corporation, think-tank, board of director, ambassador at large and commissioner offers on hold until she's finished her current assignment.

She's still minister of finance. There's a budget to be delivered on Feb. 19, then steered through the legislature, before the premier replaces her in a late spring or early summer cabinet shuffle.

Budget 2008 looks to be another healthy surplus, based on Friday's update. But there are warning signs, too, that the surge of revenues is coming to an end.

The internal economy -- construction, home sales, consumer spending -- is still doing well.

The "vulnerability," as Taylor put it, is with "our external numbers" -- lumber sales to the U.S. and other exports. B.C. is being hit harder than any other province on that front.

There's a lag in how those early warning signs translate into provincial revenues. In the case of corporate and personal income taxes, it may not show up for a year to 18 months.

Too soon to have much impact on what is likely to be her last budget, the one she'll present to the house next year.

But the next finance minister may some day be asking him or herself, what did Carole Taylor know, and when did she know it?

vpalmer@direct.ca

Stingray2004

Dec 2, 2007, 7:04 PM

Hmmmmmm, I wonder if they are referring to the SSP poll?;)

From Michael Smyth in the Vancouver Province:
_________________________________________________________________

"I'm told by excellent sources that one opinion poll pitted her against current Mayor Sam Sullivan and NDP MLA Gregor Robertson (who's also thinking of a mayoralty bid), and Taylor came out on top in a comfortable romp."

mr.x

Dec 4, 2007, 9:36 PM

i have a dream, where Sully is sleeping in his wheelchair on a pool deck....the brakes go off and his chair slowly rolls towards the pool......

2010 makes top job attractive: Sullivan
Mayor says he's not too worried about Carole Taylor 'speculation'

Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, December 04, 2007

VANCOUVER - Mayor Sam Sullivan says he believes there are a lot more rumours about those wanting his job in 2008 because people want to be the mayor during the Winter Olympics in 2010.

"There certainly is a big attraction to being the Olympic mayor," said Sullivan, whose political future has become the subject of considerable speculation since B.C. Finance Minister Carole Taylor announced Friday she won't run provincially and that she's being courted to run for mayor.

But, Sullivan said, that's not why he wants a second term.

"Quite frankly, flying the flag at the Olympics is probably one of my lower priorities. My real priorities are environment, public disorder and crime, transportation, the Millennium Line. I want to leverage the Games to make the city a better place."

Sullivan also said he's not taking the Taylor buzz too seriously.

"I often hear rumours of people running. Ninety-nine per cent of the time, they're not based on reality. I've learned over 15 years not to spend a lot of energy on speculation."

But he said he would welcome a race.

"I love democracy."

Taylor has refused to say how seriously she is interested in running, but several groups have approached her and one has even financed a poll looking at her election chances compared to Sullivan.

Although she was first approached by Senator Larry Campbell, who was mayor under the Vision Vancouver banner, about running with that party, she is most likely to run as an independent.

There has been a steady stream of speculation about who might run as a mayoral candidate against Sullivan, which some interpret as a sign that he is not in a strong position.

Among those on the list, besides Taylor, are:

- NDP MLA Gregor Robertson, who has said he is focusing on his provincial job right now and has refused even to say which party he might run with.

- COPE Coun. David Cadman, who has been energetically promoting himself as the best candidate to unite COPE and Vision Vancouver, the party that splintered away from it three years ago.

- Allan De Genova, a 20-year Non-Partisan Association veteran and park board commissioner who left the party last year after being reprimanded by Sullivan for not being a team player.

- Raymond Louie, the Vision Vancouver councillor who is being touted by Senator Larry Campbell, and is getting support from the Chinese community.

- David Levi, a one-time Civic NDP candidate in the 1980s, who has built up a left-wing venture-capital organization (although Levi has reportedly said he is not interested until COPE and Vision start working together).

fbula@png.canwest.com

Jacques

Dec 5, 2007, 7:18 AM

Well done article, thank you, as for Sullivan, I would truly give my vote to Taylor she would truly make her mark in a very positive manner in this city a fresh view, and maybe just maybe all the bickering at city hall would cease under her leadership.

Stingray2004

Dec 5, 2007, 7:06 PM

mr.x

Dec 6, 2007, 3:09 AM

^ well done Larry! we miss you!

Phil McAvity

Dec 10, 2007, 4:59 PM

While i'm not as keen as many of you are about Carole Taylor, given the chance (which i won't get!), i'd probably vote for her. I think her job as finance minister would have been much more impressive had the rest of the country been in a slump, but it wasn't, so it's not hard to attribute the current economic health of the province more to the feds than the province. Having said that, she also didn't screw up, the way other politicians before her have. I'm not so sure that she would be the shoe-in that many of you seem to think either though. Does no one remember Christy Clark?

I haven't seen anything from Sullivan that makes me want to vote for him.

Stingray2004

Dec 10, 2007, 10:48 PM

According to the Vancouver Sun's Frances Bula, the NRG opinion poll results were something to this effect:

"According to those who have seen the numbers, twice as many people said they would vote for Taylor compared to Sullivan. NDP MLA Gregor Robertson came out a few points ahead of Sullivan, but barely outside the margin of error."

In other words, something roughly akin to 50% for Taylor and 25% each for Sullivan and Robertson.

Stingray2004

Dec 17, 2007, 8:05 PM

Well, it looks like former Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate Jim Green is also providing accolades to Taylor.

________________________________________________________________

NDP critic Robertson not mature enough to be the city's next mayor

Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun

Published: Monday, December 17, 2007

The once-happy planet of Gregor Robertson, Lotus Land's crown prince of organic juices, has suddenly become a much more complicated place.

Robertson made his name by starting up the organic juice company Happy Planet, that fashionable purveyor of healthful elixirs and smoothies. He parlayed that into a seat in the provincial legislature, where he now sits as the New Democratic Party's critic for small business.

But the former organic farmer who some once thought was the NDP's great green hope -- he has the business background, the granola pedigree and the chiselled looks that voters might cotton to -- is already finding the opposition backbench too small a world. So he's been concocting up a run for a bigger job: mayor of Vancouver.

His strategy seems, oh, so simple: Cast himself as the unity candidate, mixing together the centre and left-of-centre forces of Vancouver politics, currently divided between the COPE and Vision municipal parties. Thus fortified, Robertson dreams of taking on Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan, whose popularity has been hurt by last summer's garbage strike and the ever-growing tax bill from city hall.

Suddenly, however, the man from Happy Planet finds himself eclipsed by a much bigger political star on the horizon: Finance Minister Carole Taylor, also thinking about the mayor's job. In cosmological terms, this would be the equivalent of an asteroid colliding with a planetary giant. The dire results (for Robertson) would be predictable.

If you think I'm wrong, just ask a veteran of Vancouver's city politics, Jim Green. He's worked with Taylor, when she was a city councillor, and he's run for mayor himself. As a former mayoral candidate, he knows his politics. And he sees Taylor pushing Robertson and everyone else aside if she runs.

"I don't know that anyone could really beat her if she decides to run," says Green. "She's an exceptional person and politician."

Now Robertson's political ego is not so easily crushed. As the draft-Taylor movement grows, he has been coming out with his own statements to let everyone know he's still a contender.

Fair enough, I guess. Everyone has a right to run. And Sullivan and Taylor (if she decides to run) should be put to the test.

But the more Robertson talks, the more you realize this is a guy who's green all right -- but I don't mean just when it comes to the environment. He's still a political rookie with a high propensity to shoot himself in his Birkenstocks and not seem to even know he's doing it.

Consider these moments.

Musing about running against Taylor, the 40-something Robertson told The Globe and Mail that part of his appeal is that he's younger than the 62-year-old Taylor. "It's certainly something that sets us apart. I'm a different generation of politician...."

Oh, really? He may be a different generation, but bringing up age in a political contest is a dumb strategy. It's called ageism. It alienates people, especially women. It will backfire, if it hasn't already.

So, why does Robertson want to be mayor, anyway? Well, one of the reasons, Robertson tells us -- this time in an interview with the magazine Street Corner, which touted him on the cover as a possible mayor -- is that he's not one of those career politicians.

Okay. So if he's not a political careerist, why is he trying to become mayor after being an MLA? Does he only want to be a one-term mayor? If so, I'd like to hear how he thinks he could be effective without ever having served a single day on city council.

And while we're at it, what's wrong with being a "career politician" anyway? Does Robertson think his NDP colleague Jenny Kwan, one of the most effective constituency workers in provincial politics, and someone who kept the NDP alive when it was reduced to two seats in the legislature, is a "career politician?"

Politicians might not be a hit with the public, but to broadly slag those you sit with in the legislature, many of whom have spent much of their life in public service, is unbecoming when you're plotting a path behind the scenes for another political plum.

Now Robertson has shown flashes of getting political life. His defence of the small businesses hurt by the Cambie Street construction of the Canada Line was not just morally right, it was strategically shrewd. He managed to smoke out Taylor on the subject after she was silent on the issue for too long.

But balance that with another Robertson clunker that had the other Carole -- NDP leader Carole James -- rolling her eyes. In a profile-building bid, Robertson attacked the Liberal government for handling out about $250 million in subsidies to the oil and gas industry. What he left out was that the subsidies were a good investment, generating almost $1 billion in royalties and employing thousands, many of them New Democrats in the province's North. Oops.

Being mayor of Vancouver is a big job. It can build a young career, maybe even lead to premier of B.C. So far, however, the man from Happy Planet has demonstrated neither the gravity nor the essential ingredients for the job.

Jared

Dec 18, 2007, 2:23 AM

I wonder who will end up running? So for, it seems like the following people are might try for it in some fashion or another:

- Sam Sullivan
- Carole Taylor
- Raymond Louie
- David Cadman
- Gregor Robertson

anyone else?

tokie1

Dec 29, 2007, 2:26 AM

Snippet From the Globe and Mail:
________________________________________________________________

VANCOUVER -- Larry Campbell is so eager to see Carole Taylor run to become Vancouver mayor, the former mayor says he would be willing to take command of her bid for the job.

"I'd run her campaign if she asked me," said Mr. Campbell, now a Liberal senator.

In an interview yesterday, he said he has had a series of self-initiated conversations with B.C.'s Finance Minister about seeking the job.

.....

Mr. Campbell rejected media reports that he was trying to recruit Ms. Taylor to run for his former Vision Vancouver party, suggesting he thinks she is larger than partisan politics so should run as an Independent.

"I went to see her on behalf of Larry Campbell," he said. "Initially, I would have liked her to run for Vision, but I just had a sense that she was an Independent."

He said she can bring people together on such issues as homelessness, poverty, transit, the environment and building a sustainable city.

.....
_________________________________________________________________

Well, I guess since Campbell supports her I shouldn't. That man is the epitome of things that are wrong with politicians. Anyways, Sullivan hasn't done anything wrong so far as I can see. He has proposed solid measures, and add to that the fact that he has kept the infighting in the NPA to a minimum (in public anyways), and I'd say he deserves at least another term. If Taylor does run as an independent, it will really mess things up and probably increase the fighting and ideological divide between COPE/Vision and the NPA (she will need to rely upon one of them to get things passed, because let's face it, nobody is going to suddenly turn all happy and non-partisan, especially the COPE people).

deasine

Dec 29, 2007, 3:22 AM

I dunno why so many ppl like Larry Campbell... I hated him =.="

MistyMountainHop

Dec 30, 2007, 6:22 AM

I dunno why so many ppl like Larry Campbell... I hated him =.="

Why?

deasine

Dec 30, 2007, 8:25 AM

Very good question. His political party has a lot to do with it. And his ways of doing things, I'm not really liking...

Stingray2004

Jan 7, 2008, 11:58 PM

Carole Taylor has told CKNW she will "not" be running for Mayor

Jan, 07 2008 - 2:50 PM

VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - There will be no business cards reading "Carole Taylor -- mayor of Vancouver" printed.
The finance minister Carole Taylor has told CKNW she will “not” be running for the top job in the city.

Taylor says in an ideal world she would have been able to put off making a decision until next summer.

”But I began to realize that too many people were depending on my decision. People who wanted to run with me, other people who would run for mayor if I weren't so I didn't feel that I had the luxury of waiting. And so today I phoned a number of people who have been encouraging me to run and told them that in fact I will not be running for mayor of Vancouver.”

Taylor says she still has not made a decision on what she will do after her job as finance minister wraps up.

deasine

Jan 8, 2008, 4:04 AM

so unfortunate =(

djh

Jan 8, 2008, 4:48 AM

Carole Taylor has told CKNW she will "not" be running for Mayor

Taylor says she still has not made a decision on what she will do after her job as finance minister wraps up.

Federal Government. Odds on.

ckkelley

Jan 8, 2008, 5:19 AM

I dunno why so many ppl like Larry Campbell... I hated him =.="

Yeah but c'mon, you absolutely had to love it when he called the so-called bus riders union losers while storming out of a translink meeting they had just disrupted.

deasine

Jan 8, 2008, 6:15 AM

Yeah but c'mon, you absolutely had to love it when he called the so-called bus riders union losers while storming out of a translink meeting they had just disrupted.

LAWL

EastVanMark

Jan 9, 2008, 1:55 AM

Horrible, horrible news. :( :grrr: :wah: :wah:

deasine

Feb 13, 2008, 4:00 AM

Some dirty politics, from the vancouver sun:

Mayor faces fight for his job
NPA councillor Ladner leads challenge against Sullivan
Miro Cernetig, Vancouver Sun
Published: Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Get ready for a nasty political battle at Vancouver's city hall, as Mayor Sam Sullivan faces down an attempt by one of his own councillors to open the door for challengers to run against the incumbent mayor in the next election.
Peter Ladner, a longtime member of the Non-Partisan Association, has told insiders he will throw down the gauntlet on Wednesday, when he makes an appearance at the civic party's executive board meeting.
The Vancouver Sun has confirmed that Ladner will seek to derail an unusual proposal by the party's executive that would have guaranteed Sullivan the nomination for the coming civic election, which will see Vancouverites choose who leads the city during the 2010 Olympics.

This amounts to a political putsch from within.
Ladner, who has been harbouring mayoral ambitions of his own and is disenchanted with Sullivan's leadership, will ask the NPA executive to back down from a proposal to "greenlight" Sullivan's automatic nomination to run in November's election.
The NPA board had been expected to approve Sullivan's nomination in the coming weeks, along with those of a bloc of other incumbent NPA councillors and parks and school board members.
It would then have asked the NPA's annual general meeting April 22 to vote the nominations through as a united bloc.
But if the NPA board acquiesces to Ladner's unexpected demand -- which is hardly certain, but may be impossible to avoid -- Sullivan's nomination would no longer be a fait accompli.
It would effectively throw the door wide open for anyone to challenge Vancouver's mayor for the party's nomination in June.
If, however, the board denies Ladner, a respected city councillor, his request for a real race, it will create a massive and perhaps irreparable rift in the civic party that has dominated Vancouver's civic politics for generations.
Reached Monday night, Ladner refused to comment on what he would tell the board. It is possible he might change his mind, as the pressure mounts.
But many inside the NPA expect Ladner, who has a strong power base within the civic party, to resign if his request is denied and possibly run for mayor as an independent.
Ladner, who has entertained the possibility of running for mayor in the past, hinted at his disgruntlement a few days ago when he told his fellow NPA caucus members he would not support the civic party's attempt to close the contest for the mayor's nomination.
Ladner has been telling insiders he's not sure Sullivan could win the coming election.
What does this Byzantine turn of events all mean for us? Well, a recent Hollywood film captures it best: There Will Be Blood.
If Ladner makes his challenge, as sources have confirmed he has told them he will, it certainly means the toxic stew of political ambitions and discontent within the right-of-centre civic party will finally explode to the surface.
Up to now there have been only hints of this.
It did appear that Sullivan was in trouble when Liberal Finance Minister Carole Taylor was considering running for the Vancouver mayor's job, though as an independent. Many in the NPA were expected to back Taylor, who was running well ahead in civic polls, and Sullivan's electoral hopes would have been dashed.
But Sullivan's future seemed more assured after Taylor decided against running for mayor. He has also been buoyed by the fact that the other main civic party that will be fighting for the Vancouver mayor's chair, Vision, has been dealing with its own internal and internecine battles.
Now, however, Sullivan's hold on the top job at city hall is less secure.
Sullivan is intent on running for his party's nomination. But even if he survives this challenge from within, it's going to hurt his attempt to run for a second term as mayor for a simple reason: As the 2010 Olympics approach, this sort of political infighting is not what Vancouverites want from city hall.

Source: The Vancouver Sun

I wouldn't mind Peter Ladner running for mayor.

djh

Feb 21, 2008, 7:01 PM

Some dirty politics, from the vancouver sun:

I wouldn't mind Peter Ladner running for mayor.

NEWSFLASH - 11:00am - Ladner's just thrown his hat into the mayoral race as an Independent. Bu-bye Sam.

Can we change the names in the poll?

Stingray2004

Feb 21, 2008, 10:12 PM

Actually, Ladner is contesting the NPA nomination for mayor against Sullivan. But the NPA first has to change its current "green-light" process protecting incumbents, which matter will likley come to a head on April 22.

As for VV, Allan De Genova has announced his candidacy, and two others, Raymond Louie and Gregor Roberston will also likley eventually throw their hats into the ring.

As for COPE, they might run David Cadman as their mayoral candidate if De Genova takes the mantle for VV.

In other words, toooooo early for any more polls until the above smoke all begins to clear.

For what it's worth, the NPA also had some recent polling done with the apparent following results, with Sullivan losing by the following margins::

Sullivan v. VV De Genova: 3 - 4 points
Sullivan v. VV Louie: 9 - 11 points
Sullivan v. VV Roberston: 18 - 25 points.

http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/citystates/archive/2008/02/20/vancouver-civic-roller-derby-part-17-npa-gets-ugly-poll-results-tonight-and-decides-on-whether-to-greenlight-mayor-sam-sullivan.aspx#comments

Stingray2004

Feb 22, 2008, 4:27 AM

For what it's worth, the NPA also had some recent polling done with the apparent following results, with Sullivan losing by the following margins::

Sullivan v. VV De Genova: 3 - 4 points
Sullivan v. VV Louie: 9 - 11 points
Sullivan v. VV Roberston: 18 - 25 points.

I guess Gregor Robertson has read those numbers as well. He's apparently now decidied to jump into the VV ring against De Genova on Sunday.

Robertson set to announce run for Vision Vancouver

Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun

Published: Thursday, February 21, 2008

VANCOUVER -- NDP MLA Gregor Robertson is set to announce Sunday that he's running for the mayoral nomination of Vision Vancouver.

Robertson told the NDP caucus earlier today about his decision, which comes on the heels of Vancouver Coun. Peter Ladner's announcement he's going to challenge Mayor Sam Sullivan for the mayoral nomination in their party.

Robertson, who represents Vancouver-Fairview, has been indicating for months he's interested in running but didn't commit until now.

Robertson is one of the founders of Happy Planet Foods, although he has not been directly involved with the company since he was elected to the provincial legislature in 2001.

zivan56

Feb 22, 2008, 5:13 AM

Is he quitting as an MLA to run?

deasine

Feb 22, 2008, 6:33 AM

Ewww.... Gregor Robinson.

Ladner, Robertson join mayoralty race

Early candidates heat up race for City of Vancouver fall election

Frances Bula, Vancouver Sun

Published: Thursday, February 21, 2008
VANCOUVER -- It was a red-letter day for Vancouver civic politics today, as word came out that two heavyweight candidates will enter the mayoral race for the two main civic parties, guaranteeing energetic, possibly divisive races for both.
NDP MLA Gregor Robertson's team has told the media that Robertson is set to make an announcement Sunday, which is widely expected to be the official launch of his campaign to run for Vision Vancouver's mayoral nomination. Robertson told the NDP caucus this afternoon that he is running.
That ensures the Vision nomination will be a hotly contested race, since Robertson will be running against park board commissioner Allan DeGenova, who kicked off his campaign two weeks ago.
http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/2de3e3f6-b472-4835-9142-3ead50913788/sun%2002-21-2008%20ladner%201.jpg?size=l
NPA Councillor Peter Ladner announcing he will seek nomination for Mayor of Vancouver.
Bill Keay/Vancouver Sun

Robertson's news capped a day that started with an official announcement from Non-Partisan Association Coun. Peter Ladner that he will challenge Mayor Sam Sullivan for the party's mayoral nomination, an unprecedented move for that party.
"I believe that the mayor has lost the confidence of the voters and I feel compelled to do something about that," said Ladner, who is in his second term as councillor.
He denied that he is causing a split in the party, saying the split is already there.
"I'm simply responding to this. When I'm part of a team and I see the ship heading for the rocks, I feel an obligation to change course and offer an alternative."
Ladner's campaign faces some difficult hurdles, since the party board decided six months ago that it would nominate existing politicians for the slate as long as they proved they had community support and a plan to raise money.
Sullivan has raised almost half a million dollars for his personal campaign and has signed up about two dozen people as endorsers over the past month. Ladner acknowledged that he is the underdog, given Sullivan's team and money, but said he hoped democracy would prevail.
He admitted he has some major backers in the community who are providing money for his campaign, but he didn't provide any details.
Ladner did not emphasize significant policy differences with Sullivan. He said he wants to curb violence in the city and give police more support, but he has been one of the most openly critical members of council over police requests for more money in previous years.
He also noted that he had voted differently from Sullivan on support for the Woodward's development and on giving strike savings back to taxpayers and he criticized the mayor's move to trademark the term EcoDensity.
But mainly he said it was important for the party to have an open race, given the level of dissatisfaction with Sullivan he has heard about in polls and on the street.
Ladner's move comes after months of speculation inside and outside the party about Sullivan's performance. But it is also guaranteed to cause more dissent than a regular party race, because many party loyalists had been trying strenuously to avoid a battle like one that developed in 2002 between then-mayor Philip Owen and mayoral contender Jennifer Clarke. That fight tore the party in two and helped lead to its near-annihilation.
Sullivan said he is going to work hard to make sure the race doesn't divide the party the same way. He stayed away from criticizing Ladner, but commented that "we worked very closely together for five years and I wasn't aware of any major policy differences between us."
Vision's contest doesn't have quite the same bitter overtones since it's an open race with no sitting candidate.
But the entry of DeGenova, a former longtime NPA member who left the party two years ago after a disagreement with Sullivan, into the Vision race has had many people speculating that the relatively new party could end up being torn apart, with more centrist, federal Liberal types supporting DeGenova and NDP-affiliated members supporting Robertson.
As well, if DeGenova won the Vision nomination, it would likely prompt left-wingers to leave and return to the city's traditional left-wing party, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, according to Simon Fraser University political scientist Kennedy Stewart's analysis in other media.

© Vancouver Sun

Jacques

Feb 22, 2008, 6:57 AM

MR GREGOR ROBERTSON has one vote assured MINE

204

Mar 4, 2008, 8:11 PM

Raymond Louie about to declare he's running officially for mayor?
(http://communities.canada.com/vancouversun/blogs/citystates/archive/2008/02/27/raymond-louie-about-to-declare-he-s-running-officially-for-mayor.aspx)
The Internet registration authority knows all. The sites www.raymondlouie.ca and www.raymondlouieformayor.ca have been registered in the past 10 days. In case anyone wants them, www.mayorsamsullivanformayor.ca, www.peterladnerformayor.ca , www.gregorrobertsonformayor.ca, www.allandegenovaformayor.ca, and www.davidcadmanformayor.ca are still available!!

And Robertson's people haven't scooped up EVERY left-winger around. Neil Monckton, one of the main architects of COPE's stunning win in 2002, says he will be supporting Louie in the upcoming battle.

mr.x

Mar 8, 2008, 9:09 PM

:banana: :banaride:

If I am elected mayor of Vancouver, this is what I will do . . .
Public stoning, free drugs part of platform

Pete McMartin, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, March 08, 2008

After much agonizing and careful consideration -- it's going on 20 minutes now -- and because of a groundswell of support from my editors urging me on that I had better write something for Saturday or perhaps I should consider looking for another line of work, I have decided to announce the following:

I am running for mayor of Vancouver.

Yes, I know. I am pretty excited about it, too.

To kick off my campaign, I am throwing my pants into the ring, to differentiate myself from other responsible-politics-as-usual candidates who have already thrown their hats into the ring.

So, when you next look at the ring, there will be Sam Sullivan's crown of thorns, and there will be Gregor Robertson's halo, and there will be Peter Ladner's laurel wreath -- the kind Brutus wore when he was stabbing Caesar in the back -- and there will be my pants, size 40 Dockers with expandable Lycra waistline.

I shall now present my election platform. It is:

1. If elected, I will outlaw within the city limits of Vancouver the following phrases:

"Olympic Fever!"

"The Big One."

"The Most Livable City in the World!"

"Muk Muk."

2. If elected, I will make it mandatory that any elected official, or any unelected official who happens to be a toady of the provincial Liberal government and who finds themselves on, say, the board of TransLink, must at all times take public transit within city limits, so as to see how it feels to take the bus and sit between the guy singing along on his iPod to Billy Idol's Rebel Yell and the drunk man who smells faintly of urine and who, loudly, engages you in conversation and who says he wants to be your friend, much to the amusement of the other passengers.

A government helicopter or limousine will not be considered public transit.

3. If elected, I will clean up the Downtown Eastside. By airstrike.:cheers:

4. If elected, I will ban in restaurants any food stacked higher than the height of a hamburger, and rescind the licence of any restaurant which considers a sirloin the size of a pocket watch and three exquisitely cooked mini-carrots an entree. Additionally, "celebrity chefs" and "food architects" will henceforth be known only as "cooks" or "the help," while waiters who enthuse over "tonight's fascinating synthesis between a mango aioli infused with a reduction of squid ink" shall be subject to a fine of not less than double the cost of the diner's egregiously overpriced meal, or a horsewhipping, depending on the level of the waiter's obsequiousness.

5. If elected, I will plant the roof of the new convention centre with grass.

No, I mean the other grass.:cheers:

6. If elected, I will bring back public stoning. (See convention centre roof, above.)

7. If elected, I will, in the interests of EcoDensity, rezone Dunbar, the Southlands, Shaughnessy, Oakridge, Kerrisdale and wherever David Suzuki lives as multi-family residential, because we all have to pitch in to save Mother Earth and, besides, it's fun watching rich people get mad.

8. If elected, I promise as mayor not to refer to any disability I might have, or to liken said disability to any other condition such as drug addiction, or to liken my conquering of said disability to the conquering of other problems life presents you with, or to suggest that my disability makes me empathetic to the suffering of others, or to shamelessly and continually refer to my disability on the political stage, because, you know, it just makes people puke.:banaride:

9. If elected, I will pass out free drugs to the downtrodden members of our society -- our diabetics, our cancer patients and our chronic pain sufferers. I will build free clinics where these unfortunates can go and have whatever drugs they need administered to them in a safe and clean environment without any delay. I will call these clinics "hospitals."

10. If elected, I will commission the building of a public square in every neighbourhood, in which the public will be encouraged to hold outdoor dances every Saturday night, because neighbours need to get to know one another and because life is short. Music shall include Motown, disco, polka, waltz, tango, salsa and klezmer, but not country, unless you can square-dance to it -- this, on the recommendation of my political advisors who tell me that anything coming out of Nashville these days sucks. Also to be encouraged in these public squares will be games of road hockey, dogs, skateboarding, impromptu soccer games, farmers' markets, skipping, fireworks at least twice a year and a level of civilized public drinking in the afternoon that is known to induce the feeling of calm, peace and universal brotherhood that comes with slight inebriation, and because this town could use some slight inebriation.

And that's it, my blueprint for the future, or for the next two years, whichever comes first. I look forward to serving as your mayor, and getting really good tickets for the Olympics.

So, good people of Vancouver, look for me during the campaign in the coming months, and my campaign signs with the slogan:

"Probably, You Could Do Worse."

And come up and say hello if you see me on the street.

I will be the one not wearing any pants.