 | Friday, January 29, 2021
Reading this online? Sign up to get this delivered to your inbox every Friday. | | Populists vs. moderates, Non-Partisan Association edition | | |  | | | The political party in Vancouver that elected the most candidates last civic election has a board of directors that includes Donald Trump supporters, a former employee of Rebel News, a former member of the People’s Party of Canada, and people who attack the media and support anti-mask rallies.
If that seems strange to you, well, it’s strange to the people elected under their banner, too.
“The NPA elected caucus believes in an inclusive, compassionate and caring city free from hate, stigma and discrimination,” reads the opening of a letter from all elected councillors, school board trustees and park board commissioners of the Non-Partisan Association, demanding the board hold an AGM immediately.
“The board must reflect the values of the elected caucus, long held ideals of the organization, membership, and the diversity of our city and residents.”
Fights over the future of the NPA are decades old, but this one is particularly hostile.
So what’s going on? And why did it get to this point?
The short version is that in 2018 voters elected a bunch of centre-right, Red Tory NPA types to office, en route to their most successful election since 2005. They’re broadly the type of politicians — keep taxes low, be compassionate to the most marginalized, but skeptical of local government doing too much — that have been politically successful throughout Vancouver’s history.
A year later, NPA members chose a number of board members significantly to the right of those elected politicians. Elected members supporting a more moderate slate of candidates failed to get their vote out.
That’s created a schism resulting in one councillor leaving the party and several board members quitting.
In theory, there would have been an AGM last year to possibly resolve that tension, but the pandemic interrupted that. Suffice to say, the elected officials reached a breaking point, and hope a new election — when they could spend more effort getting the vote out — will create a new board in alignment with their values.
And if that doesn’t work?
“I think we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” said Sarah Kirby-Yung on CKNW radio yesterday afternoon.
While it’s an entertaining skirmish for those who enjoy the machinations of internal political battles, there are a few lessons for the rest of us.
One is that Vancouver has elements of populism just like everywhere else. Another is that centre-right parties have to contend openly with those debates from the start, or they get consumed by them.
And the other is that political organizing and advocacy is a full-time job: if you’re a moderate politician and you want to fight against polarization, you best be signing up members and making your case internally all the time, not just when there’s an election.
Or you suffer the consequences. | | |  | | | 2. Victoria | Discussion of how to best to house the city’s homeless population continued, with council prohibiting camping in one park. But the bigger change happened via Attorney General David Eby, who announced the city’s largest arena would become a temporary facility. A self-imposed March 31 deadline of more permanent accomodation still looms large.
Read more | | | |  | | | 3. Belcarra | As expected, Jamie Ross won the election to become the municipality’s new mayor, defeating Dr. Colm Cole 239 to 184. The longtime former councillor will have the challenge of dealing with the city’s net debt and limited tax base — whether he succeeds is TBD, but expect less criticism of the province than under former mayor Neil Belenkie.
Read more in the Tri-City News | | | | | |  | | | 4. White Rock | A six-storey rental-only building was rejected by council, even after a public hearing where a majority expressed their support. It’s noteworthy for the fact Mayor Darryl Walker voted in favour, while the rest of his Democracy Direct-White Rock team voted against the project — an event that has happened with increasing frequency during his term.
Read more in the Surrey Now-Leader | | | |  | | | 5. Vernon | Finally, if you’ve noticed your local geese population growing in recent decades, you’re not alone — federal regulations protecting them are proving too effective, in some people’s eyes. Vernon council voted to spent $41,000 to cull about 100-150 in the city, and it’s likely other municipalities will watch to see how effective the program is.
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