Vancouver Civic Election 2022

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Heh, got me there. Though I'm fairly sure that since Hastings Park is on Renfrew, a Purple Line would skip it entirely; the boost would have to come from increased R5 service.

It's all a network, the R5 and purple line will feed into each other. I'd definitely expect a significant increase in people from the North Shore and South Burnaby to Hastings Park.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Heh, got me there. Though I'm fairly sure that since Hastings Park is on Renfrew, a Purple Line would skip it entirely; the boost would have to come from increased R5 service.

Nah I can see a station in the lands of the old Empire stadium, not the Renfrew side. Horseracing will get a huge boost!

[Migrant_Coconut]

Also indie rock, because most horse names double as cover band names.

Originally Posted by chowhou

It's all a network, the R5 and purple line will feed into each other. I'd definitely expect a significant increase in people from the North Shore and South Burnaby to Hastings Park.

Yeah, but not as much of a boost as if the SkyTrain network fed the PNE directly, is what I'm saying.

[Migrant_Coconut]

In other news, Fred Harding has confirmed that he's got no chance of winning this election either:

Mayoral candidate makes outrageous promise to bring NBA back to Vancouver

If you thought Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum would have the most outrageous sports-related promise this election season, you thought wrong.

That honour now belongs to NPA mayoral candidate Fred Harding.

A press release sent on behalf of Harding today is titled: “NPA mayor will bring the NBA back to Vancouver.”

He appears to be serious, calling the plan a “cornerstone” of an NPA-led majority government with him as mayor...

“... We lost our team 20 years ago, but we have never lost our heart or our hope that we will bring a team back,” said Harding. “Bringing back the NBA to Vancouver will be a cornerstone of an NPA-led majority with me as mayor...”

... Four years ago when Harding was running for mayor, he outlined a similar plan. He ended up finishing sixth.

“We have a loneliness problem in this city and we’re going to change that,” Harding said four years ago in a video posted to YouTube by Social Trade Media Vancouver Video Production. “One of the things that we’re going to do is bring back the NBA. That’s happening. It’s coming back. We’re going to pursue a league franchise to recreate the Grizzlies back in Vancouver.

Link

Of course, this isn't something a mayor can actually do.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Of course, this isn't something a mayor can actually do.

TBF pretty much every party is suggesting policy the mayor and/or council can't actually do.

OneCity promises LVT
Forward promises ward electoral reform (bleh!)
ABC previously promised abolishing the parks' board, now promises to hire 100 police and 100 health care workers (I've heard this is not within council's purview)
Progress wants to win
NPA promises the moon

Ironically TEAM is probably the only party that can achieve everything it wants to do:

Nothing!

[Migrant_Coconut]

Yeah, but LVT, electoral reform and more police are at least practical ideas, unlike anything the NPA pitches:

NPA vows to end goose poop at Vancouver playing fields

..As their newest election campaign platform promise for securing Vancouver Park Board commissioner seats, the Non-Partisan Association (NPA) is promising to finally address the poop problem.

If elected, the NPA says they will remove all geese from Vancouver’s playing fields...

Link

Only somebody who's 30 points behind could come up with something this ridiculous.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Yeah, but LVT, electoral reform and more police are at least practical ideas, unlike anything the NPA pitches:



Only somebody who's 30 points behind could come up with something this ridiculous.

It’s not a bad idea. Our parks and playing fields are a disgrace. The city could easily step up its egg addling program. Or better yet a cull of Canada Geese which were introduced to this area by hunters. Unlike futile suits against Big Oil, this is actually a municipal responsibility.

[Sheba]

Oh what fun in New West...

The race for the mayor’s chair in New Westminster could be a close three-way contest among two former councillors and a newcomer, and voters won’t be blamed for confusing which candidate stands for what.

Voters are facing two unfamiliar party names, with Community First New Westminster, made up of councillors formerly on outgoing Mayor Jonathan Cote’s Team Cote, and the newly formed New Westminster Progressives, headed by a first-time municipal candidate.

Community First has more “progressive” policies, and the Progressives are more traditional and conservative, said Douglas College professor Sam Schechter.

“There is going to be a lot of brand confusion” between the two parties, said Schechter, a former North Vancouver city councillor and a communications professor with an interest in municipal governments. “It’s going to be a close three-way race.”

The platform of Community First, led by former councillor Patrick Johnstone, is similar to that of the Progressives, led by first-time municipal candidate Ken Armstrong, in that they identify affordable housing and homelessness among the city’s top issues, he said.

“What the voters are seeing in writing on the issues is low contrast,” Shechter said. How the two parties are able to differentiate themselves will be revealed during the debates and in interactions with voters.

More than once, Schechter, who lives in New West, linked left-of-centre policies to the Progressives when he meant the opposite and checked himself from identifying ideals of Community First as “progressive.”

“It is confusing,” he admitted. Seeing the Progressives name, “some right-wing voters may be confused and some left-wing voters may be confused.”

Further mystifying the mayoral race is Chuck Puchmayr, a former councillor running as an Independent, who used to be on the same Team Cote slate as Johnstone, said Schechter.

...

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by whatnext

It’s not a bad idea. Our parks and playing fields are a disgrace. The city could easily step up its egg addling program. Or better yet a cull of Canada Geese which were introduced to this area by hunters. Unlike futile suits against Big Oil, this is actually a municipal responsibility.

Canada Geese are actually protected under federal law (i.e. killing or harming them is illegal). And best of luck trying to enforce any kind of ban on wild birds in general.

[WarrenC12]

Community First is a poor choice of name. Sounds like America First.

[svlt]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

In other news, Fred Harding has confirmed that he's got no chance of winning this election either:



Of course, this isn't something a mayor can actually do.

The Nordiques probably have something like 10x times the chance of happening than NBA back in Vancouver and both the mayor AND premier have been badgering the league for more than a decade to no avail (including building an underutilized arena to attract the league) - so Harding has zero pull to get this done.

[NetMapel]

2022 Municipal Election Platform

I figured sharing this here in an urban planning enthusiast forum may have some synergy. While there are a lot of things to factor when deciding on your candidate(s) of choice, personally I thought seeing which candidates endorsed BikeHub’s platform is a good start. Given that housing crisis, environmentalism, physical/mental wellness, economics, transportation and more, are all important topics for our leaders to tackle, I like seeing candidates who endorse the same methods of execution as me. That is to say, concepts like 15 minutes city, strong town… etc are what I think should be the urban planning philosophy going forward.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you’re having trouble deciding who to vote for, maybe see if seeing which are the candidates who endorsed BikeHub’s platform can be a helpful starting point. Seems like a good fit for us urban enthusiasts here

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by chowhou

Love him or hate him, the current mayor single handedly ended the King George LTR and got the Surrey-Langley Skytrain under construction in a single term. Surrey has a lot of votes on the Mayors' Council so they have some say over Translink policy.

its Jinny Sims promising buses every 15 minutes or less..

Speaking of McCallum, there have been some hand-painted banners going up saying kick him out popping up around surrey.

[Sheba]

Originally Posted by NetMapel

2022 Municipal Election Platform

Vancouver's NPA, TEAM least likely to support bike friendly motions: Analysis

NPA and TEAM party members on Vancouver’s city council and park board were less likely to vote in favour of “bike-friendly” motions compared with their colleagues, according to a new analysis.

The findings, reported by HUB Cycling, a non-profit group that promotes cycling and active transportation, were based on an analysis of council and park board voting records from January 2019 to August 2022. The analysis found over three dozen city council and park board votes during the period of study that related to active transportation and cycling.

“Municipal officials have quite a lot of influence on what cycling infrastructure, policy and education happens,” said Erin O’Melinn, executive director of HUB Cycling. “We want people to know that there is a lot of power at this level.”

...

[whatnext]

Final poll before the election:

Stewart 33%
Sim 33%
Hardwick 16%
Marissen 8%
Harding 8%

Vancouver, BC [October 14, 2022] – The outcome of the mayoral election in Vancouver is uncertain, with the two main contenders tied and about one-in-seven likely voters still undecided about who they will support tomorrow, a new Research Co. poll has found.

The online survey of a representative sample of likely voters in Vancouver finds both incumbent Kennedy Stewart of Forward Together and challenger Ken Sim of A Better City (ABC) garnering the support of 33% of decided voters. The numbers represent a two-point drop for Stewart and a three-point gain for Sim since a Research Co. survey conducted in early September.

Colleen Hardwick of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver remains in third place with 16% (-1), followed by Mark Marissen of Progress Vancouver with 8% (-5) and Fred Harding of the Non-Partisan Association (NPA) also with 8% (+4). Two per cent of decided voters say they will cast a ballot for one of the other ten mayoral candidates...

https://researchco.ca/2022/10/14/final-vancouver-2022/

[whatnext]

Strangely, Stewart seems to be having his election night shindig at the Trump, er, Paradox Hotel. Doesn't really seem fitting for the quasi-NDP regular guy.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Strangely, Stewart seems to be having his election night shindig at the Trump, er, Paradox Hotel. Doesn't really seem fitting for the quasi-NDP regular guy.

What better place than the venue that kicked out Trump? Kind of like calling a Turkish Muslim a hypocrite for praying in the Hagia Sofia.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by chowhou

What better place than the venue that kicked out Trump? Kind of like calling a Turkish Muslim a hypocrite for praying in the Hagia Sofia.

You mean the venue owned by a Malaysian billionaire who has been sitting on an old social housing site for over a decade? Sounds very appropriate for Stewart.

Perhaps even more appropriately, the NPA or having their Do at the Terminal City Club.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by whatnext

You mean the venue owned by a Malaysian billionaire who has been sitting on an old social housing site for over a decade? Sounds very appropriate for Stewart.

Perhaps even more appropriately, the NPA or having their Do at the Terminal City Club.

I don't follow but ok!

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by chowhou

I don't follow but ok!

NPA is terminal.