This is a Vancouver magazine story that I wrote last year, but everything in it is relevant — 100 times more — today, when it comes to Vision’s difficulties talking to the public. BTW, when this was published, a Vision insider passed along the message to me that it was a piece of crap, or […]
Entries from January 2016
How did Vision Vancouver get itself into trouble? A look back
November 11th, 2014 · 4 Comments
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The Bula election lawn-sign count: It’s not 2011 any more — but a surprise along Point Grey Rd
November 8th, 2014 · 4 Comments
As some of you may remember, I spent a day driving around Vancouver just before the 2011 election to do a lawn-sign count because I wanted to get some read, beyond polls and spin, of the public mood. There have been studies indicating that lawn signs are an indication of public engagement and sentiment, so […]
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Gregor Robertson: Progressive, green, not a troll, fighting for his political life. What went wrong?
November 8th, 2014 · 18 Comments
My Saturday story in the Globe. Frances Bula Special to The Globe and Mail Published Friday, Nov. 07 2014, 9:40 PM EST Vancouver’s mayor is a pescatarian, bike-riding advocate for all things green, pleasantly low-key and good-looking – a central-casting choice for his role. Gregor Robertson has spent his past two terms working on […]
Tags: 2014 Vancouver Civic Election
Are there any housing solutions possible for Vancouver? NPA, Vision, Green, COPE offer very different ones
November 7th, 2014 · 21 Comments
Lots of people smarter than me think it’s almost impossible to tackle housing affordability issues in a city like Vancouver. The house prices in certain pockets are so out of whack that it’s hard to imagine that any level of income increase or city subsidy would bring them down. But mayoral candidates, of course, can’t […]
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TEAM now says people who want to vote against developer-backed parties should ditch small independents, got for COPE, Green, NPAindependent Kasting, go for COPE
November 7th, 2014 · 1 Comment
TEAM, the party formed mainly by people put off by the NPA’s campaign last time, is now advising people not to go for the smaller parties and independents they had originally endorsed as the best options. Bill McCreery has just put out this news release advising people to go for the more viable options instead. […]
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Campaign contributor lists from big parties to come … soon
November 5th, 2014 · 5 Comments
After being grilled for a while at a recent Globe Vancouver bureau interview, NPA mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe called back after the meeting to say the party would release contributor lists after all. (Story here.) That set off a domino effect with all the other parties. The smaller ones have rushed to get their lists […]
Tags: 2014 Vancouver Civic Election
Seattle’s requirements for reporting city campaign donations are to die for. But do they produce cheaper elections? No
November 3rd, 2014 · 5 Comments
I got to go to Seattle once to write about the way they monitor and regulate campaign financing for their municipal elections. It brought tears to my eyes and will to all you poli nerds out there. Here’s a link to their elections site, where you can click on any of their ward-type races, the […]
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Week of the attacks: Vision’s fuzzy Chevron policy, NPA LaPointe’s UBC address
November 2nd, 2014 · 26 Comments
Things definitely heated up in the Vancouver election last week, starting with the debate at Christ Church cathedral Sunday where the NPA’s Kirk LaPointe got Mayor Gregor Robertson on the ropes over what exactly was promised (or not) to one of Vision’s union donors. The NPA was thrilled to play the video all week of […]
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