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The election poll in the Fabula world

November 17th, 2011 · 11 Comments

Political reporters live in the bubble, along with the politicians, bureacrats and campaigners they cover.

As well, we’re hampered by our tendency to hang around in our personal world with people who have similar political convictions.

So any sentient journalist likes to check out what the real people are thinking, outside those circles.

Here’s the poll among people who I like to rely on to get my reality-check take:

Hairdresser: He never tells me how he votes, but he does tell me trends among his west-side clients. In 2008, they were turned off Sam Sullivan and turned on to Gregor Robertson. This time, they’re off Robertson: bike lanes, wasting money, and a flake. So they’re giving money to Suzanne Anton, but they have doubts about her and whether they think she’ll make it.

Garden-maintenance crew. (Please, no comments about how bourgeois I am. I have no time to rake leaves when I’m doing the people’s work, bringing you information.)

Big big fan of cutie gregor. actually got to meet him at two recent events. we talked chickens and backyard gardening. very cool. to be honest i am not big into politics. just find it overwhelming and not knowledgeable enough. follow the usa elections more than any of our stuff. however robertson really got me intrested in civic stuff as i find this impacts us more directly than federal. likely silly thinking, but def intrested in what is going on around us- parks, bike routes, homeless etc. So yes the whole crew is voting and hoping for the best.

Dentist: Voted for Gregor Robertson last time, definitely not voting for him again. Didn’t mention Occupy Vancouver at all, but talked about the bike lanes and the chickens as something that really riled him.

Physio: Hardly ever votes and likely won’t this time. What she knows about the election: The mayor brought in chickens and bees. And she doesn’t like “that woman” running against him, can’t stand her voice and the constant attacks.

A union, usually left-voting relative: Doesn’t know anything about Vision other than that they put in the bike lanes and might tear down the viaducts. Will vote Vision because he doesn’t go downtown that much and doesn’t care. Plus “if you’re going to vote left, you have to eat a little granola.”

A good NPA-voting friend: Can’t imagine ever voting anything but NPA. However, he is going to vote for Tim Louis because he thinks it’s good to have a real attack dog on council.

That’s all for now, folks. More to come ….

 

Categories: Uncategorized

  • RossK

    But….

    If you eat granola do you have to vote left?

    What a conundrum!

    .

  • Silly Season

    I made granola for 30, every day, for a year. AND I slept in a tent for 3 months.

    Yet, the mayor’s smile leaves me unmoved…maybe I wasn’t making the right (er…left) kind of Granola?

    It was a great recipe from the Findhorn Cookbook, btw.. 😉

  • Everyman

    One comment struck me, as I’ve raised it before:

    “And she doesn’t like “that woman” running against him, can’t stand her voice…”

    We heard the same thing about Carole James, and I find it demeaning to women (even coming from a woman). Ever notice the most successful female politician in the Western World, Margaret Thatcher, had a deep voice?

  • RossK

    Thanks SS–

    Will look it up.

    .

  • Roger Kemble

    Silly Season @ #2

    Findhorn. Of course!

    Now I get it.

  • Roger Kemble

    Everyman @ #3”

    . . . most successful female politician in the Western World, Margaret Thatcher . . . ”

    Errrrr . . . wot was that you said?

  • Agustin

    One comment struck me, as I’ve raised it before:

    “And she doesn’t like “that woman” running against him, can’t stand her voice…”

    We heard the same thing about Carole James, and I find it demeaning to women (even coming from a woman). Ever notice the most successful female politician in the Western World, Margaret Thatcher, had a deep voice?

    What are your thoughts on “Big big fan of cutie gregor”?

    On another subject, I’m really surprised when I hear that people are upset about the chicken thing. What, exactly, is offputting about allowing people to raise a couple of chickens in their back yards?

  • david hadaway

    Everyman.

    Thatcher originally had a high voice, she went to a speech coach to have it toned down, she actually dropped an octave. If you can stand it compare recordings of her as Minister of Education in the early 70s and as Prime Minister in the 80s.

    A strange woman – successful if you regard exacerbating social division, shattering her country’s industrial base, throwing millions out of work, giving away national assets built up over decades and laying the foundation for the UK’s current serious problems as success.

    But thanks for reminding me that things could be a lot worse.

  • Dan Cooper

    @Agustin:

    I always wonder the same thing about the Great Chicken Shunning, as Frances beautifully renamed the issue. New Westminster allows urban chickens, and apparently it isn’t a problem. Likewise in Portland, Oregon and Boston, Massachussets [ Fun fact! If a coin flip had gone the other way, the Oregon city would also have been named Boston. ] as well as Seattle, Everett, San Jose, San Diego, Los freakin’ Angeles for heavens sake, and on and on.

    I suppose you could argue that the time and money spent discussing the question would have been better used elsewhere, but if you are also complaining about all the evil things current council did, why would you have wanted them to do more of them? 😉

  • F.H.Leghorn

    A woman needs a man like a chicken needs a bicycle.

  • Everyman

    @david hadaway 8
    Interesting about Thatcher’s speech training. I hadn’t heard that, though it does reinforce my point that there is some inherent bias (not quite the correct word) againts women in politics, if their very voices are a point of criticism! Remember the comments levelled against “screechy” Joy McPhail? BTW I meant electorally successful for Thatcher.

    As to the chicken thing, really it was the “homeless chicken shelter” thing which made it all appear ridiculous, and that just devolved into the political shorthand of “backyard chickens”.