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The master list of would-be candidates for the Vancouver civic election

August 27th, 2008 · 10 Comments

Everyone owes me a drink for this labour of something or another: The complete list of candidates. I started to compile it because I realized that I was completely losing track of all the people popping on and off the list. As well, I wanted to get a handle on just how many Vision candidates there really are now, a continually growing list that is starting to generate some real rumblings of unhappiness from experienced political campaigners and observers. For the record, it’s 33 candidates: 15 for council; 6 for school board; 11 for park board. That’s for 10, 9 and 7 spots respectively — and not even counting the places on the slate that Vision is theoretically going to leave for its uneasy ally COPE in order to preserve some semblance of political peace.

Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson told me today he’s not concerned about the number of candidates. In fact, he sees it as encouraging that there are so many people who want to get involved hands on in city politics. And he thinks Vision’s vetting system will work out fine. Sometime before the actual nomination day, candidates will be required to fill out a 16-page questionnaire that asks them to go through a lot of questions (which basically boil down to: “Have you done anything ever in your life that could embarrass us, including saying or writing inflammatory statements that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time but, years later, will make you/us look like amateurs and yahoos when the opposition issues a media statement about them?”)

But I am hearing others say that it’s starting to look chaotic and amateur and can lead to real political consequences, especially if people feel they have invested a lot of time and effort to get elected only to get lost in the general melee.

For the record, everything is in alphabetical order, so I can avoid accusations of some kind of bias. I have included the websites I could find for council candidates only. There were a couple of candidates I could find no information on whatsoever. I’m happy to amend if they’ll just contact me. And of course do get in touch if I’ve left you off the list completely.

I will continue to re-post this and update it. Here it is.

2008 VANCOUVER CIVIC ELECTION NOMINATION CANDIDATES

* indicates someone already nominated by their party

+ indicates someone who is currently elected to a civic position

NB: Vision and COPE have not determined yet how many spots their hopeful candidates will be running for

COUNCIL (10 seats)

COPE

1. +David Cadman – former head of environmental group SPEC

2. Tim Louis – lawyer, former councillor

3. Terry Martin

3. Meena Wong – former assistant to Toronto city councillor Olivia Chow, www.meenawong.ca

4. Ellen Woodsworth – community organizer with seniors, women’s groups, www.ellenwoodsworth.com

NPA

1. *+Suzanne Anton – former Crown prosector, www.suzanneanton.ca

2. *+Elizabeth Ball – former theatre director, www.elizabethball.ca

3. *+Kim Capri – former director John Howard Society, www.kimcapri.ca

4. Lenore Copeland – president False Creek Residents Association,

5. *Michael Geller – former president of SFU UniverCity, planner, development consultant , www.michaelgeller.ca

6. *Korina Houghton – forester in training, current park board trustee, www.korinahoughton.com

7. David Lee – retired HSBC vice-president

8.

9.

10.

Rumours: Syrus Lee of the Chinatown BIA, “someone” South Asian

VISION

1. +George Chow – retired B.C. Hydro engineer, Chinatown volunteer

2. +Heather Deal – researcher, David Suzuki Foundation, www.heatherdeal.ca

3. Kashmir Dhaliwal – president, Ross Street temple

4. Demitri Douzenis – manages a small business that offers cross-cultural and conflict-resolution consultion, www.demitri2008.ca

5. David Eby – lawyer, Pivot Legal advocate, www.davideby.ca

6. Catherine Evans – lawyer, public-interest communications business, B.C. Society for Public Education president, www.catherineevans.ca

7. Kerry Jang – UBC psychiatry professor, www.kerryjang.ca

8. Heather Harrison – Kwantlen philosophy instructor, www.heatherharrison.ca

9. Vaune Adams Kolber – former director of non-profit and voluntary programs at SFU, www.votevaune08.ca

10. Ray Lam – youth advocate, gay and lesbian advocate, www.raylam.ca

11. +Raymond Louie – two-term councillor, print-shop worker and union rep, www.raymondlouie.ca

12. Geoff Meggs – former assistant Larry Campbell, communications director B.C. Federation of Labour, www.geoffmeggs.ca

13. Andrea Reimer – executive director Western Canada Wilderness Committee, www.andreareimer.typepad.com

14. +Tim Stevenson – United Church minister, long-time politician

15. Rey Umlas – retired staff representative, Hospital Employees Union

SCHOOL BOARD (9 spots)

COPE

1. Bill Bargeman – former president Vancouver Secondary Teachers

2.+Al Blakey – former teacher

3. Jane Bouey – co-manager independent bookstore, former trustee

4. Alnoor Gova – researcher and community organizer

5. Noel Herron – former school principal, former trustee

6. +Allan Wong – longtime trustee, teacher

NPA

1. *Ken Denike – former geography professor

2. *Carol Gibson – former teacher, post-secondary administrator

3. *Clarence Hansen – former school principal

4. *Heather Holden — current park-board commissioner, former geography prof, wealth advisor, www.heatherholden,ca

5. *Sophia Woo – mental health clinician, volunteer Rotary Club

6.

7.

8.

9.

VISION

1. Patti Bacchus – parent advocate

2. Narinder Chhina – businessman

3. +Sharon Gregson – child care advocate

4. Mike Lombardi – former teacher, parent activist, Italian community leader, www.mikelombardi.ca

5. Anastasia Mirras – school psychologist, union activist, most of Demetri Douzenis

6. Helesia Luke – founding member Save Our Schools Coalition

7. Steven Vdovine – current Maple Ridge school trustee, young

PARK BOARD (7 spots)

COPE

1. John Irwin, SFU geography instructor, SPEC director

2. Justin Muir – artist, president Helen Pitt Gallery

3. Imtiaz Popat – artist, radio host Co-op Radio

4. Anita Romaniuk – systems analyst, former park board commissioner

5. +Loretta Woodcock – environmental activist

GREEN

Stuart Mackinnon – special-needs teacher, past president of SPEC

NPA

Nominated already

1. *Laura McDiarmid – former park board trustee, former B.C. Liberal candidate 2005

2. *Chris Richardson – former park board trustee, police officer

3. *+Ian Robertson – corporate communications, Rocky Mountaineer

4. *Sharon Urton – co-chair Vancouver Active Communities Network

Competing for remaining three spots

5. Melissa DeGenova – something in real estate, daughter of longtime park-board commissioner Allan

6. Naresh Shukla

7. Wai Sin – realtor

8. +Marty Zlotnik – investment company owner

Rumour: Jamie Lee Hamilton has indicated in various public venues that she wants to run, but nothing official has appeared yet.

VISION

1. Constance Barnes – daughter of former MLA Emery Barnes

2. Sarah Blyth – skateboarder advocate

3. Hadani Ditmars – journalist

4. James Gill – West Point Grey Community Centre Association volunteer

5. Raj Hundal – Vision executive member, former MP Penny Priddy assistant

6. Aaron Jasper – director, West End Residents Association

7. Tony Kosovic, former corrections officer, longtime NDP member and union activist

8. Thomas Lockhart – operator West Coast Tattoo

9. Kevin Neilson – ?

10. Steve Tannock – web developer

11. Rob Wynen – former West End Residents Association president, manager North Vancouver community centre fitness centre

Rumour: Ian Waddell may run for park board

Categories: Uncategorized

  • Gölök

    What about expected independents (Like me, McMartin, and Jimenez – http://www.angelformayor.com) and Betty K of the WLP?
    Or who knows what else.

  • West End Bob

    Everyone owes me a drink

    That’s a lot of drinks, fabula!

    Thanks for the effort . . . .

  • Chris

    Thanks for putting this together!

    There’s a lot of great candidates on that list. It’s a shame that many won’t even make it to the ballot.

  • The Man

    Please tell me that “forester in training” is a joke with respect to Korina Houghton. Is this not the park board chair who voted to cut down 80 trees in Queen Elizabeth Park??? More like “logger in training”!!

    With such a strong roster of professionals working for green-focused organizations, let’s hope the likes of Houghton will get their walking papers this election.

    Thanks for this list, it helps clarify what will prove to be a very messy nomination process.

    TM

  • Steve

    Welcome back Frances!

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  • VanRamblings

    Former Board of Variance Chair, Terry Martin, now appears on the COPE website as a candidate for Council.

    He seems to be tackling the issues of importance in the coming election … “eradicating homelessness …; reinvigorating democracy at City Hall by re-establishing the 29 community Boards; expanding the U-Pass system to all post-secondary students; mandating 20% affordable housing in new developments; mandating that all new highrise construction meet the LEED Gold Standard; encouraging small-scale arts venues across the City; and re-establishing third-party community appeals before the Board of Variance, allowing citizen input into neighbourhood development.”

    Took him awhile to get his candidate profile in, though.

    We’ll see what happens at the COPE nomination convention on Sunday, Sept. 28th.

    As Howie Mandel would say, “Deal or no deal.”

  • RobWynen

    Frances, thanks for the list. As a candidate for a Vision Park board nomination even I was having trouble figuring out who was putting their name forward and who was just testing the waters. I have been very impressed with the calibre of Vision candidates. The slate that will be chosen on Sept 20th will surely be a group of highly trained and experienced leaders.

    All the best. Rob Wynen (www.voterobwynen.com)

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  • Shepsil