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NPA Candidates in Communities and on the Airwaves - Change is Coming November 19th

Posted: Jul 14, 2011

Dear friends and supporters,

It's been quite lively in Vancouver politics since our last email bulletin, and we'll sum up some of our accomplishments in the note below. Our NPA candidates have been working tirelessly attending community events and listening to neighbourhoods and stakeholders across Vancouver.

The response has been – in a word – fantastic. There is a hunger for change at City Hall, Park Board and the School Board. Voters want a government which listens to them. Vancouverites want the kind of leadership that our NPA team will provide.

Throughout the upcoming election campaign, we want to provide you with a short update and some links that it's hoped that you will share with others who feel as you do about our great city.

Stanley Cup Riot: Why Won’t Mayor Robertson Accept Responsibility?

Gregor Robertson’s refusal to own up to his part in staging the downtown “fan zones” during the Stanley Cup Playoffs has been very troubling to all of us. Since Gregor Robertson cut off Councillor Anton's microphone at city council two weeks ago, citizens across the city have been sending in questions they want answered by Robertson and Vision.

Here are just a few:

  • Who was in charge of the city’s preparations?
  • Why didn’t Mayor read the provincial and municipal reports on 1994 Stanley Cup riot?
  • Why doesn’t the Mayor know how many police officers were on the street that night?
  • Did Mayor support City Manager's effort to “ratchet down” police costs in advance of Stanley Cup finals?
  • Robertson said at City Council that he had “many discussions” with the police chief during the Stanley Cup.  In an interview with the Globe and Mail he said he had no idea of what the plans were. Which statement is true?
  • COPE Councillor Woodsworth said she called Mayor's office before the puck even dropped for Game Seven and told them problems were brewing. Why did the Mayor’s office tell her “nothing more could be done”?
  • Was the City’s Emergency Management Committee in place and providing oversight to preparations? How many meetings did they have and what did they discuss?
  • Did the city’s Social Planning and Communications Departments fulfill the critical roles proposed in the 1994 report recommendations to prevent a riot?
  • Why was city council’s first order of business after the riot funding to encourage wheat growing on Vancouver front yards?

Rest assured your NPA Team will continue to push for answers to these questions hard. Vancouverites deserve answers.

More Vision “Greenwashing” at Taxpayer Expense

After over two years of paying image consultants, conducting backroom meetings and promoting chicken coops, Gregor Robertson and Vision Vancouver finally unveiled their Green City Plan this week. The 162-page manifesto sheds light on a whole new layer of city bureaucracy that Vision will create, more wacky green projects, and more taxpayer-funded consultants. Worse than that, Vision Vancouver is hiding the price tag from taxpayers as this release from Suzanne Anton & Council Candidate Mike Klassen describes.

Thanks to decades of NPA leadership, we already are a world leader when it comes to creating a green and environmentally sustainable city. If elected as government the NPA Team will build upon that legacy. However, we will not support giving Robertson a blank cheque from the taxpayers for more wheat fields, thought experiments and symbolic gestures. Vancouver taxpayers deserve to know the cost before the plan can be approved – not after-the-fact when it’s too late and your tax dollars have been wasted with more greenwashing by Vision and COPE.

Vision Silent on Nanaimo Street Traffic Safety

NPA Park Board and Council candidates Dave Pasin and Joe Carangi held a news conference this week to support local families along Nanaimo Street that have been negatively impacted by the city’s decision to alter truck routes around Metro Vancouver Port.

While Vision Vancouver Councillors have been silent, our NPA Team is listening to the concerns of residents, taking action and proposing constructive actions to mitigate traffic safety concerns. Our NPA Team will continue to support Joe and David’s efforts and support other neighbourhoods unable to get results from a Vision Vancouver administration that simply isn’t listening to voters.

Support for Civic Events

Vision Vancouver Councillors found themselves flip-flopping again this week trying to explain how they were both for and against calls by NPA Council Candidates Sean Bickerton and Bill Yuen to grant civic status to three of Vancouver’s largest community celebrations that support tourism and benefit our local economy.

While Vision Vancouver wastes hundreds of thousands of dollars on new layers of city bureaucracy, wacky green projects and PR consultants, they have refused to support the NPA’s commitment to provide additional support for Vancouver’s annual Chinese New Year, Vaisakhi and Pride celebrations.

With a small investment from existing budgets (such as the dollars spent on Vision’s car free days), we can make a significant contribution to events that attract thousands of tourists to our city and bolster the economy year-after-year. As part of the plan to support community celebrations, our NPA Team will also re-evaluate the city’s criteria for civic events to include other large scale, long-standing, non-profit celebrations.

Midnight Harry Potter Screening Tonight with NPA Council Candidate Ken Charko

Later tonight at the Dunbar Theatre, NPA Candidate (and Cinema Owner) Ken Charko will be giving away a limited number of free seats to the midnight showing of the new Harry Potter movie. The recipients will be deserving fans with the best HP costume and attitude. Be there by 10:00 pm to win!

Thank you again for all your support and encouragement. We hope you will consider volunteering and donating to the campaign or call our office anytime at 604-633-9992.

Best regards

The NPA Team

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