In what seems to be a determined effort by Vision Vancouver to reprise 2002 but do it better, the team has decided to have its inaugural ceremony at Bing Thom’s beautiful new Sunset Community Centre.
For those with short memories, i.e. most of us, the winning COPE crew in 2002 decided to take government out to the people by having their inaugural ceremony at the Roundhouse community centre.
This time, it’s south Vancouver that’s being honoured. That’s in part to acknowledge the heavy involvement of the Indo-Canadian community in the election. In spite of the fact that almost none of the Indo-Canadian candidates running got elected, except for Vision’s Raj Hundal to park board, the 49th and Main area was a hotbed of political activity. There was a sign in almost every yard on 49th between Main and Fraser.
Bill Yee, the councillor (and lawyer) who was Mike Harcourt’s sidekick during the 1980s, will be the judge who swears in the new council in the ceremony, which will be held in the gymnasium. (There’ll be overflow areas with audio provided.)
Then everyone will repair back to council for the first meeting to appoint committees and so on. Insiders are deriving some amusement from the fact that all the gal councillors are lined up in the right side of council with Tim Stevenson (in order: Heather Deal, Tim, Andrea Reimer, Suzanne Anton, and Ellen Woodsworth), while the left side will be the testosterone row: Raymond Louie at the head, George Chow, Kerry Jang, David Cadman and Geoff Meggs. (Seats are chosen according to how many votes people got.)
And then after that, the work will start. Word is that staff are being told they’re not supposed to bury the councillors in weeks of briefings, as had happened in the past. Instead, the new Vision crew wants to concentrate on the big problems: affordable housing, homelessness, the Olympic village, and the budget.