Oops: The mic was still on when Vancouver Mayor Robertson gave this trash talk

[SpongeG]

gee what a nice mayor

Oops: The mic was still on when Vancouver Mayor Robertson gave this trash talk

A storm is brewing over unflattering comments made by Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and several of his councillors — all of them angry to the point of cursing about citizens who differ with his party on plans to develop rental units in the West End.

Robertson and Vision Vancouver councillors Heather Deal and Tim Stevenson were caught on audiotape after a meeting about a controversial new panel that council plans to appoint to advise it on development of more rental towers in the area.

Using a hand-picked group, and offering considerable concessions to developers who put up the towers, has prompted an angry reaction from detractors.

Suzanne Anton, the lone oppoosition councillor from the Non-Partisan Association, voted against setting up the committee.

The mayor asks at one point: “Who are all these f---kin’ . . . Who are these hacks, man? Are they . . . are they NPA hacks?”

Stevenson and the mayor then agree that citizens attending the council meeting to raise objections were simply “owners” who didn’t want more renters nearby.

Robertson concludes with: “God, we’re just trying to have a little advisory committee, for f--k sakes.”

A YouTube video of the comments that were caught, but have since been taken down, can be found here.



Read more: http://www.theprovince.com/news/Oops...#ixzz0tWEerwoE

[mr.x]

• Video Link


Well, I actually can't blame Robertson lolll....I mean, just look at what the proposed West End Community Advisory Committee is:


Mandate
The Mayor’s West End Community Advisory Committee is an interim
measure to a formal planning process being undertaken. The
Committee is responsible for communicating community priorities to
the City in its planning and policy development and for helping to
communicate City policy initiatives that may be of interest to
residents in the West End.

Activities
The Mayor’s West End Community Advisory Committee will be
responsible for the following activities interim to a formal planning
process be undertaken for the West End:
1. Developing and maintaining a list of community priorities for
the West End.
2. Meeting with developers proposing re-zonings in the West End
prior to community open houses to ensure these proposals are
informed by current community priorities
3. Providing advice to the Mayor’s Office on further initiatives to
increase linkages between the West End and City in relation
to development and policy.


That's what these people are against????...the average NIMBY whining that takes far too much of council's time and a disproportionate amount of influence over our city. If there's one thing I'm going to applaud Robertson for, it's this.


Politicians do it all the time in private. I'm not really surprised, lol. I too would roll my eyes and be thinking the same thing if I were in that meeting....anyone remember all the NIMBY's at the observation tower, Ecodensity, and Waterfront Stadium meetings? I often got the impression that the councillors weren't listening to NIMBY rants anyway, and were probably doing the exact same thing after the meetings ended.

[zivan56]

Considering those WERA types are against anything any everything in the West End, I'm not surprised.

[punface]

I didn't vote Vision, but my respect for the mayor went up 10x after hearing this. Someone has to put my NIMBY neighbors in their place.

[whatnext]

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey-ey, goodbye!

It must be so frustratingly inconvenient for Mayor, nay Emperor Moonbeam, when the little people actually disagree with his "vision". Things were so much easier when you could just blow $300k on a viaduct study without the peons getting involved. Imagine, property owners actually wanting some input and planning into what happens in their neighbourhood! Who do these people think they are!

Sounds like the Committee to Re-elect Tim Stevenson, oops, I mean the West End Residents Advisory Committee, isn't going to get quite the smooth sailing Vision expected.

[SpikePhanta]

I think anti-NIMBYs on this forum should all band together and go to these meetings just to make a majority....

[vid]

I, for one, am shocked--SHOCKED--at the idea that an elected official could be human. SHOCKED.

[Stingray2004]

The funny thing is... Mayor Moonbeam was making expletives against what he thought were "NPA hacks". Au contraire.

The folks he disparaged at the council meeting were from his own political set including:

1. Randy Helten - VV member who assisted the 2008 VV campaign;

2. Carole Walker - former COPE council candidate;

Furthermore, Brent Granby, president of WERA, apparently also has intentions of seeking a Vision Vancouver Parks Board nomination in the next go round.

Looks like all is not fine and well within the Visionista camp tonight.

[whatnext]

From Canada's national newspaper:

...Additionally, the sound of Mr. Robertson and a couple of his Vision colleagues belittling a group of people who were simply voicing a dissenting opinion will only help add another layer to the patina of arrogance that the mayor’s party has begun to demonstrate.

It’s manifested in an impression created by many Vision councillors that they know what’s best for the citizens of Vancouver because they are so much smarter than everyone else. It’s the eye-rolling impatience, the drum of the fingers on the desk, that you get when they are forced to listen to anyone who disagrees with their granola-munching, bike-riding view of the world... (bold mine)
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/...rticle1637671/

And is Stevenson so out of touch that he thinks that owners in the West End are horrified by renters in their midst? I'd bet many of those owners of were West End renters at one time. They certainly would have been aware of the West End's high amount of rental housing. Maybe they're just put off by the prospect of helter skelter development without proper planning and consideration for heritage or amenities.

[Delirium]

why do people keep calling him mayor moonbeam? seems really immature.

i don't get it though. had he not used the F word, would this have made the news? what a non-issue!
you can tell its summer. slow news all around...

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Delirium

why do people keep calling him mayor moonbeam? seems really immature.

i don't get it though. had he not used the F word, would this have made the news? what a non-issue!
you can tell its summer. slow news all around...

Did you read the article I linked? Its not the swearing that's objectionable, its the contempt for anyone who dares to oppose their point of view. Lethally hypocritical when you've built your image on being the caring, community party.

Mayor Moonbeam is a totally appropriate nickname for this one.

[Yume-sama]

Originally Posted by Delirium

why do people keep calling him mayor moonbeam? seems really immature.

It's actually a political "term" that has been used since 1978, when Jerry Brown was nicknamed "Governor Moonbeam" (because he wanted California to form its own space academy). It's now used to describe a person (usually a politician) whose policies are consistently viewed as "out there", perhaps... really out there. It's just peoples way of showing some affection for dear leader comrade Robertson.

Who, is actually right in cursing at this group of NIMBY's.

[Delirium]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

It's actually a political "term" that has been used since 1978, when Jerry Brown was nicknamed "Governor Moonbeam" (because he wanted California to form its own space academy). It's now used to describe a person (usually a politician) whose policies are consistently viewed as "out there", perhaps... really out there. It's just peoples way of showing some affection for dear leader comrade Robertson.

Who, is actually right in cursing at this group of NIMBY's.

thanks for the explanation.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by Delirium

why do people keep calling him mayor moonbeam? seems really immature.

Charlie Smith, editor of the centre-left Georgia Straight, has also affectionately called Gregor "Mayor Moonbeam".

... when the Georgia Straight conducted its Best of Vancouver survey that involved thousands of responses, Mayor Moonbeam won in the category of "best politician".

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=ca

And yes, Gregor has some traits that one can identify with former California governor Jerry Brown - aka "Governor Moonbeam".

At least Gregor is not loony left-wing COPE. He's centre-left, a nice guy and, as I have previously stated, I fully expect him to win again in 2011.

[jlousa]

This is actually a really big deal, the swearing is not the issue the context is. As someone you makes my living thanks to development, I applaud the work of the nimby. Yes I said that. Without them this town would be littered with junk, they assure that stuff that makes it through the system is of some value and they've made Vancouver what it is. Sure they can be frustrating to deal with at times, but their intentions are positive. They just like each and everyone of us have the right to express themselves. All three of them should be ashamed of themselves right now, and should reconsider their futures if they don't feel the value of listening to their constituents.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Stingray2004

Charlie Smith, editor of the centre-left Georgia Straight, has also affectionately called Gregor "Mayor Moonbeam".

http://webcache.googleusercontent.co...&ct=clnk&gl=ca

And yes, Gregor has some traits that one can identify with former California governor Jerry Brown - aka "Governor Moonbeam".

At least Gregor is not loony left-wing COPE. He's centre-left, a nice guy and, as I have previously stated, I fully expect him to win again in 2011.

I don't use the term Mayor Moonbeam in any kind of endearing or affectionate way. I use it as a term of absolute scorn and derision for an earnest boyscout apparently in way over his head, yet with the frightening capacity to throttle this city. Maybe he'd be great as mayor of somewhere like Nelson, but not as mayor of Canada's third largest city.

Its clear that Gregor's mask slipped off in an unguarded moment.

Oh yeah, and I voted for him.

[dleung]

No one seriously believes that politicians don't cuss about their constituents the other 99.99% of the time when the microphones are actually not on. They shouldn't apologized for privately-expressed frustration, or erronous suspicion [of 'hacks'] for that matter. This "controversy" is just another pretense for people who already have an agenda against Vision and need ammunition.

The Mayor is a retard, but my respect actually went up a little upon finding that he actually has a personality. Just like when Larry Campbell called the Bus Riders Union "losers"

Originally Posted by whatnext

Maybe they're just put off by the prospect of helter skelter development without proper planning and consideration for heritage or amenities.

That's their official stance (and I agree with it), but that group in particular will always find new reasons to oppose densification, because the truth is they just don't want to share their perfect utopia with more people than necessary. Everyone knows this coming into the meeting, including the mayor/councillors, which is what made them so cynical about the process. One would be naive to think there's any sincere good-will left out there.

[Yume-sama]

I think he's pretty left wing, but, as always he could be the lesser of two evils

Like, the kind of people who think Ignatieff and Layton are involved in a right wing conspiracy (which I read about in the CBC comments earlier today) kind of left.

[Stingray2004]

Originally Posted by Yume-sama

I think he's pretty left wing, but, as always he could be the lesser of two evils

During the 1980's, COPE elected councillors such as Bruce Yorke (a card-carrying member of the Communist Party of Canada). Of course COPE is also the party of former councillor Tim Louis whose hero was Che Guevera.

Loony left stuff. Even former mayor Larry Campbell left COPE after realizing that they were a bunch of far left-wing ideologues whose only interest was in debating star wars weapons in outer space by the Yanks. That's why Campbell helped form VV in the first place.

Gregor is more of a centre-left politician with a business background (Happy Planet) who is more geared toward the urban cyclist/ pedestrian, environment, and granola eating crowd. Still haven't figured out if Gregor eats quiche though.

[WarrenC12]

If I had the mic I'd be dropping more than a few F-bombs at those idiot NIMBYs.