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Expect a lot of jockeying among candidates to be the preferred “anti-Vision” vote in by-election

July 12th, 2017 · No Comments

So, thanks to the resignation of Geoff Meggs from council, as he goes off to be chief of staff for John Horgan in the new NDP government, there will be a by-election sometime in mid-October. Even though whoever wins won’t make a difference to the balance of power on council — Vision will still have […]

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NPA, LaPointe apologize to Vision mayor, councillor over statements during election

September 21st, 2015 · 10 Comments

We could see this one coming after the last Supreme Court judgment. VANCOUVER, Sept. 21, 2015 /CNW/ – During the 2014 civic election campaign the NPA, through its election materials, and mayoralty candidate Kirk LaPointe, made allegations of impropriety on the part of Mayor Gregor Robertson and Councillor Geoff Meggs in seeking a campaign contribution […]

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Is it time to start thinking about Plan B for the transit referendum?

March 27th, 2015 · 309 Comments

The guy who was the mayoral candidate for the Non-Partisan Association last November, Kirk LaPointe, thinks so. Anyone else got a Plan B?  

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NPA new board: Peter Armstrong leaves as president; Kirk LaPointe comes on as director

February 26th, 2015 · 2 Comments

NPA had its annual general meeting last night. (My gilt-edged invitation must be lost in the mail somewhere.) Elected a set of new directors, see a clip from the news release below, and officially clarified that the NPA is a party. Gregory Baker, Johnny Cheung, Erin Chutter, Carling Dick, Jay Jagpal, Jason King, Kirk LaPointe, […]

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BulaBlog guide on how to figure out who matches your values, how to vote strategically

November 14th, 2014 · 32 Comments

I’m hearing from more than one person that this election is very confusing for them, especially those who are young and/or who are not regular political junkies. They aren’t sure what the parties really stand for, whether some candidates are better than others, and whether they should vote strategically — or even how to do […]

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Tags: 2014 Vancouver Civic Election · Uncategorized

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 […]

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Tags: 2014 Vancouver Civic Election

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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Battle for Vancouver council shows a tight fight between Vision, Greens at bottom of list

October 31st, 2014 · 10 Comments

Yes, I know, polls. But they remain, as imperfect as they inevitably are, a good way for us to understand what is going on with campaigns beyond the spin and headlines. This Justason poll, which I wrote about here, is the first attempt to get online panelists to look at something resembling a ballot to […]

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Robertson stumbles as he tries to answer LaPointe question about union deal

October 27th, 2014 · 46 Comments

Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson can be forceful about the issues he has convictions on, but something I’ve noticed over the years is how poorly he handles questions where he thinks he might be accused of doing something wrong but he isn’t quite sure. That was on display full force Sunday, when the mayor was asked […]

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