Jim Green on council has been an absolute nightmare. Jim Green as Mayor will do irreperable damage.

It's my sincere hope that this James Green [B]does[B] manage to pull enough votes away to ensure that the Jimbo doesn't win.

Looks to me like a paid spoiler.

Interesting link between this James Green, the downtown property owner and Sam Sullivan the councillor who is challenging the other Jim Green for the mayor's seat.

Must be just a coincidence, don't you think?

On coincidences and Tyee commentators' obsession with conspiracy theories. I have always believed that "coincidences are more often than not." When I thought I had somehow found evidence of conspiracy in our city's print media, one of the contributors to this Tyee, Charles Campbell said, "Forget conspiracies, it's just plain incompetence." I believe Mr. Campbell is right and particularly in this case. Statistically it would seem that James Green is present when disasters strike. The finger must surely point towards incomptence.

I am surprised anyone would think it is a coincidence that there is a "James" Green running against Jim Green. (James will appear before Jim on the ballot.)

This ploy is not new to Canada. Relying on my memory, only a few years ago in Manitoba, in about five or six ridings in provincial elections, there would coincidentally appear a name exactly the same as NDP candidates. These would be in poor and aboriginal constituencies. Finally,after one election, a man came forward and named names of who paid him to put his name on the ballot. I believe there are several Conservatives in jail today for this "mischief".

Someone once said "You can always hire one-half the people to kill the other half." And money can buy other things besides killing half the people. This is not coincidence.

vera k, surely you are mistaken.
since when do politicians go to jail? except for colin thatcher, who was convicted of murder.

thanks for the nice thought tho.

james green has zero chance of being mayor.

is he mentally unbalanced, as well as independently wealthy?

if you answered no to the last query, then you must believe there is another agenda for james.

jim green would benefit greatly from having another jim green on the ballot. not likely.

how about sullivan? duh!

given the behavior of the totally partisan association during the nomination process, i find no problem believing they could embrace such a strategy.

vancouver does not need a return to a council dominated by gordon campbell's friends.

Seems like the real purpose of this may have been to take that last jab at Sam Sullivan.

And to add to that. Say what you want about Sullivan being a righty... but he's not a Scumbag, he's a stand up guy and wouldn't employ such tactics.

This is really funny!

When I was first told about another Jim Green (II)many weeks ago, my first thought was that it was 'convenient'. However, if the Tyee is going to conduct an expose on Mr. Green's business history, they should do one on the better known Jim Green's, and Mr. Sullivan's.

Business is not politics, and seldom (unless it is David Baines on the VSE) do articles remotely provide a fair depiction of both sides of the story. Often because business can be much nastier than politics, with no 'consideration' that an expose would be forthcoming in the political venue.

Unless you have been convicted of fraud, or recently bankrupt this man's business history should not have been so relevant. It is folly to view a political candidate with a business lens. The resulting culture is tainted.

There are business people who are very kind and compassionate people, who in a dog eat dog kind of world may be seen as 'the bad guy' depending on how the article is portrayed.

On the other hand there are major fast food chains that contribute to health problems with their awful food, but have a charity fronting them, advertise alot, and they are A-okay. There are major media outlets that fundraise who claim an extraordinary percentage going directly to kids, but who insure their Directors at $100,000 per year.

The article should have properly dealt with Mr. Green (II's) political history in terms of if he was a member of a particular party, or supporter of one candidate and so on. If he has no history whatsoever, or would not offer a history that would take away from any residual credibility he might have to take away a percent or so from presumably Jim Green, and cemented the case that he was a plant.

The pizza pieman's plug for Sam Sullivan after apparently kicking James Green out makes me see the entire article as quite 'cheesy' and not up to Tyee standards, although now that the story is out as it were, than (some) voters (bloggers) can make up their mind what they think of Mr. Green's participation.

Burner, no elected official in Manitoba went to jail for setting up fake candidates, but lower echelon organizers from the Conservative Party did.

There is no intention "James" Green should get elected. The intent is to suck off enough "Jim" Green votes to allow the other to get elected. It is such an obvious ploy.

We love democracy, unless it doesn't go our way!

Robbins-

I disagree entirely. Sure the article might be slanted-aren't they all? But business people should not be confused with *business* per se. And just as there are ethical and unethical voters, politicians, and so on, so too are their ethical and unethical business people. How one handles themselves in any business or on any job, tells me indeed a lot how they might handle themselves in a political post.

Please understand, I'm not suggesting this article is accurate or that coverage of other candidates should not also be provided. But to disregard one's reputation in business doesn't make sense to me at all (esp when we have so little else to go on).

Is anyone else disappointed that the Green Party did not run a mayoral candidate. That would have been too funny, having two Greens and a Green.

The Green candidate in the last Federal election seemed to be under the influence of something 'green' driving through Kitsilano-almost ran me over while making an unsignalled turn.

Robbins is off the mark.

Voters need to see the entire resume, just as if we were shareholders looking for a new CEO -which we are by the way.

All too often, we are party and policy focused when selecting our politicians, and we often pay a price for our folly.

Remember the disaster that was Christy Clark?

She could list no relevant achievements prior to entering politics. Her employment and education history was equal to that of an 18 year old, yet she was handed a 5 billion dollar portfolio as education minister.

Little surprise that she found the exit so quickly.

You want my vote? I want to see a resume that goes back far enough to include babysitting jobs, lawn cutting, pet sitting, and paper routes.

And I want reporters phoning those references and reporting back to me.

Would a sensible business owner be less diligent?

It seems as though this green fellah brought up his business experience as an asset of his. And it also seems that it was all crap. So I think that's important, especially the thing about not paying people.

robbins

you are off the mark.

once you throw your hat in the ring, you may as well throw in the rest of your clothes, and the videos you thought you had erased.

when you seek high political office, your potential employers have every right to know everything your proctologist knows.

if you have something to hide, politics is a dangerous game.

Okay-Mssrs/Mes Dames Nestingtree, Davey-boy and burner. I respect what you say, and your points are solid (I knew I'd left a couple of windows open). However taken in the abstract, now that we have this expose of James Green, why not Jim Green and Sam Sullivan?

Afterall, whether or not James Green is a credible candidate for Mayor of Vancouver is a matter of opinion, however he is bona fide in that he has now satisfied the criteria to be eligible for Mayor.

Mssr. D-boy brings up Christy Clark and her pre-political career in his/her criticism which supports this position. Is it that she has become a politician that she no longer is subject to this type of investigation? I have followed Christy's career since 1996 and never saw any full scrutiny of her past. Further, if one suggests that somewhere in the archives there is an expose of Mr. Sullivan or Mr. Green perhaps many 'new voters' were not voters when that expose was done, if one ever was done. This is not a clever comment, we have already had whispers of adultery or the fact that one candidate is from the U.S. etc.

Where are these historys? Which brings me to where I am going? In BC's political/media environment where alternative media abounds, but is trapped by low awareness by large mono/oligops like CanWest (Vancouver Sun, Vancouver Province, Global Television, and 20-30 community papers), the Editorial Board and or journalists for whatever reason do scant research on politicians and their histories past or present and when there is reason to investigate and to publish, more often than not, they bury the story and rationalize why they do so.

So now we have this discussion about James Green who admittedly could affect a close and important race, but in the large scheme of things is a political nobody.

I don't see how this adds up.

Robbins, as discussed throughout, James Green may be a political nobody, he may be a flake, but he has a name that couldn't be any closer to that of one of two major contenders for the position and you ask how it adds up.

Isn't that what this story is all about?

I'll bet if his name were Samuel Sullivan or Stan Sullivan or anything vaguely similar there would be more than a "how does this add up,'' response.

Besides, I think Grace McCarthy used that same question when asked years ago about changes in one Vancouver riding that looked suspiciously like an additional finger that didn't really fit, no matter how you looked at it.

Most of us got it right away, but I am sure there are still a few asking "what's wrong with that?"

Allen-you may think the story is all about the two names, and the primary story (not to be confused with primary grades) may in fact be about the two names, but that is only the superficial story. My Blog II on this subject approached nothing remotely close to what you are referring to. I didn't think my address to the others was so esoteric, do you?

To suggest that anyone reading this article is not aware of the two name thing reflects a serious contempt for the Blog Court in my view, or in the alternative a serious lack of respect for other persons abilities to critically read a rather simple story.

The story isn't about right or wrong, we get the premise thank you and don't need to go on about it.

That is why my Blog I asked the questions about his political affiliations. A first year journalist would want to know that. Because this is a political contest, not a @#$!Wall Street takeover. (My David Baines comment was sarcasm because I felt, the author missed the mark).

Because there are two Greens, there is suspicion about the motivation behind 'James Green' running. Thanks Alan. The next sequential step is to do a background check politically. Was he ever a member of a political party in BC? Did he ever work on a political campaign and for which candidate or party? Has he donated money to a candidate or party? What are his political viewpoints. Is he fiscal conservative, or does he support social programs?

The answers to these questions would have provided us with greater insight about the toddler query about James Greens motivations for running. How does a fellows dubious if not stellar business background tell us about his potential political conduct?

If we found out that he had donated to the Conservative Party of Canada for instance, we could make a supposition about why he is running...he wants to help Sam Sullivan. If he was arrested in the early nineties for protesting the cutting down of old growth, than maybe not so fast on the trigger.

I was expecting alot more.

Accordingly, I am assessing a fine under the BC Condescension Act (not related to leaky condo's).

Actually Robbins, I would expect any journalist, first year or whatever, to first look into a very interesting coincidence.

That, unless you missed it is there are two Jim Greens running for the same office.

I think if you did an honest poll, you might find quite a number of people couldn't tell James Green from Jim Green any more than they can tell the difference between Larry campbell and Gordon Campbell.

Ask another question and you might even learn that many of these enlightened ones are quite capable of getting to the polling stations without the assistance of you or the Vancouver Sun to steer them.

I realize you think we turnip truck riders are double-plus confused over the issue and may actually just have blurred vision, but tell me, if a guy has a track record of shitting all over everyone who gets involved in a busines deal with him, is it odds on he'll change his MO if people are dumb enough to elect him for a three-year term as Vancouver's chief crapper?

Oh, I'm sure it happens every day in some jurisdicutions, it's probably just that I am not as well educated as you, as you repeatedly imply to anyone who challenges you, who is employed by a group of unknown people to try to influence public opinion through that most reliable method, non-partisen opinion gathering.

We have already found that he has the same name, he has absolutely no political background and he was offered a space, (gratis) by a guy who just happens to be a friend of Sam Sullivan who is also occupying an office in the same structure.

You've just been hit was a whopping fine for political doublespeak while posing as a disinterested opinion gatherer.

Alan- everybody gets that part of the story. Enough already.

Your comment about doing an 'honest' poll is being too personal. An opinion is one thing, an inference like that is a sign of pettiness on your part.

Your suggestion that we might poll (over the telephone) to see if respondents could tell the difference between the two is inconsistent with your pre-occupation with two Jim Green's exclusively.

Your polling suggestion than suggests comparing James Green and Jim Green or Larry Campbell and Gordon Campbell. There is no continuity of purpose in how you suggest to resolve this.

Allan, what has ROBBINS polling and the Vancouver Sun go to do with steering voters.
I would like to think that I had sufficient influence to steer voters (it would be nice for the ego) but sadly, although we might affect the thinking of some people, issues steer voters, not me or the polling. Even the bigger dogs like Ipsos Reid can only influence so much and they (unlike some mainstream polling firms I won't mention) have a history of being pretty damn good.

Your comments in paragraph #5 reveal that you never read my Blog I. We only know one side of the business story, often business deals that go wrong are like divorces, there are two distinct sides to the story, that are difficult to tell in a short article.

A political history is more easily 'objectified'. Also I didn't know that you drove a turnip truck, and should tell you that most of my better friends are truck drivers.

I didn't know you were uneducated. I normally don't hang around with educated people anyway. I am not employed by anyone, I am an owner with partners. Our business model is deadly accuracy in polling, and notwithstanding your opinion, independence from government.

Lastly, we don't know if James Green has any political background, the question hasn't been asked. The article is there for both of us to read isn't it?

My comments aren't political doublespeak, they underscore a very general format for objectivity in journalism. Also I am an objective data collector, I am never a disinterested opinion gatherer. If I were I wouldn't take the time to interact with you and your opinion would I?

Gee, sorry about that, but I prefer it when people who ask questions aren't trying for a specific answer.

Data that is collected by a person who isn't disinterested, is basically uninteresting since it is liable to be biased.

Tough to deal with any analysis based on salted questions.

Robbins, you can take a look his site, jamesgreenformayor.com, for more on his background. His vision seems to be an inverted one of the other Jim Green, as he opposes almost every major initiative the other Green voted for.

From what I've read of this James Green, it looks more like he's doing this of his own will. As much as others might want to tie it into the NPA campaign, this Green looks like he may have jumped in as an opportunist because of his name, rather than being pushed into it. Even if he is a conservative, it doesn't mean that he is working on behalf of the conservatives. Even if the name diversion helps Sullivan, if doesn't mean Sullivan had any part in this decision.

To which I would reply, that may be correct, but I do think George's daddy's friends whom he appointed to the Supreme Court sure did.

Lesson here?

Follow any dots that show up in politics and if there are links from one to the other, there is at least an even chance it's anything but coincidence.

Can anyone connect these 3 dots:

1. In the early 90’s James C. Green was doing a deal with Omnicorp. Shortly after the deal went sour, Omnicorp was bought up by Solara Ventures, a Vancouver based venture mining company owned by several high flying mining promoters who were the subject of several David Baines articles.

2. In the early 90’s Allen Langdon did some mining consulting work in BC as a consultant for GPC International. He is now in the image building business working for Reputations. He is also reportedly a big C Conservative and very pivotal in the current NPA campaign as a strategist.

3. James C. Green’s campaign has reportedly received some indirect funding from the venture mining industry in Vancouver.

I’m shocked at how little due diligence the Vancouver mainstream media has done on this very bizarre story of the coincidental candidate.

Allen Garr has reported that the Ladner/Sullivan duo is a good cop/bad cop routine with Sullivan not afraid to rake some muck in a good fight. My take on it is that there are some key NPA strategists rubbing their hands with glee at thought that this little ploy might well make the difference in a tight campaign.

Hang on Northislander, I sense an opinion poll coming this way quite soon that will tell us it's all been a terrible mistake.

I am curious however, if some of these (still) unknown venture mining execs have also invested in a polling firm?

Of course that would be a polling firm where the staff all have some kind of vested interest in the questions they ask.

Of course these mining promoters could never be accused of playing the margins, now could they? LOL.

Hello all. If you have the nerve, call me and we can discuss the truth. How sad it is that people who only have read about me in this sad excuse for a newpaper, can pass judgement or even have an opinion about me. My number is 604-709-3627 so call and let's have some fun talking about me and why I am running and what I want to accomplish as mayor. YOu shold be asking who is Jim Green. Do some research on this American draft dodger who was indicted twice by his own government and who ran to our country instead of staying home and fighting against this terrible war,who left COPE with a big debt and whose bank lost $5,000,000 and who recently negotiated the Woodward's deal.
THe highlights are that there is a shortfall of $32mil and the taxpayers will have to cover $13mil on this, Jim Green negotiated a guaranteed no interest mortgage for the developer so he can buy the land from the city. This mortgage is worth $6.5mil. He negotiated this for his developer buddies who also pay his election expenses. Jimmy The Alabama Kid uses threats, lawsuits and intimidation against anyone who opposes him. DO some research boys and girls and see how they run. As for Sam, it is enough to say that he has lost all credibility as he has voted against everything he can and he has actually financed the purchase of illegal drugs for addicts. Sam is soft spoken but just as dangerous as Jim Green. Anyways, call me and we can talk.I suspect that those of you who think I am a bogus candidate won't have the guts to call or email me. Oh my email is

Bring it mates.

Isn't democracy a clean business?