Topic
Scenes from the rivals' campaign trails as their race, said to be close, enters its last hours.
NDP's Eby claims opponent uses 'Stephen Harper tactics.'
Charged debate among resisters over tactics splatters into the open.
It's a rainy Saturday morning, five days before residents of Vancouver-Point Grey decide who will replace Gordon Campbell as their MLA.
Will it be the familiar persona of Christy Clark, the former BC Liberal cabinet minister who left her radio show to win the job of premier, but lacks a seat in the Legislature?
Or will it be NDP candidate David Eby, the slender, six-foot-seven civil rights lawyer in a black wool coat, skinny-jeans and a pair of Converse All Stars, who is shouting support, at this moment, for a crowd of demonstators outside a Kitsilano apartment?
The rally is to raise awareness for the "renovicted" -- apartment tenants who are forced from their suites by landlords looking to renovate and then jack up the rent.
Renters Tim and Amy Bratton -- soon to be "renovicted" from the grey stuccoed apartment building in the background -- deliver a plea to the Liberal government. They want tougher laws to protect tenants' rights against profit-driven landlords, not just for themselves but for all renters.
A crowd of 30 amasses behind the Brattons and Eby. Spencer Chandra Herbert, NDP MLA for Vancouver-West End, is there, too. Three TV crews and a few photographers point their lenses. Addressing the cameras, Eby promises to back renters like the Brattons.
"What the constituents in this community need, whether the renters or the owners, is a full-time MLA who will be there to fight for them," says Eby.
"It's why I'm here at this rally today. It's why I'll be supporting Tim and Amy and all the tenants of this building and it's why I'll be supporting all the constituents of Vancouver-Point Grey when I'm elected MLA, because that is what this riding needs."
The crowd gives a hearty cheer of approval.
Renters' rights is just one element of Eby's campaign platform. The hotly debated UBC Line rapid transit proposal, climate change and health care also top the list.
With the May 11 byelection fast approaching, Eby has work to do. He plans to spend the day canvassing the neighbourhood to introduce himself to the constituents.
"If nothing else it's going to be extremely close, a lot closer than they thought it was going to be," he says, heading westward towards his campaign headquarters. "As we're walking, you'll see way more Eby signs than you will Christy Clark signs."
On busy 4th Avenue there are plenty of Eby supporters, some holding banners on the street corner and others yelling to him as they drive by.
Vancouver-Point Grey stretches from Arbutus Street in the east to the University of British Columbia in the west and from Point Grey Road and the shores of Kitsilano and Jericho beaches in the north to West 16th Avenue in the south. Some 54,000 people call the riding home.
"I knew intellectually that this was a very well educated and plugged-in community," says Eby. "People are so well versed on the issues and know the details on key policy points and know the work that I've done on it."
More than 68 per cent of Vancouver-Point Grey residents aged 25 to 64 have some form of university certificate, diploma or degree, compared to 30 per cent for all of B.C., according to 2006 census data. Likewise, nearly 17 per cent are educated to the Master's level, compared to less than five per cent for the whole province.
Average household income for the riding was $66,405 in 2005.
The Christy Clark show
The evening before, Christy Clark confidently strides into the main hall of St. Mark's church in Kitsilano. More than 100 people waiting inside hoot, whistle and clap to welcome her.
The town hall meeting organized by Clark's campaign office has mainly drawn supporters, judging by the energy in the room. The premier thanks the audience several times before she begins, assuring the audience that recent media criticism over her refusal to parlay with the opposition and skip the all candidates' debates has not put her out of touch with her constituents.
"Part of my commitment is to make sure that government is open to citizens, because I know we cannot do what citizens want us to do -- cannot reflect your priorities -- unless we talk to you, unless we listen to you," says Clark.
"This is your meeting tonight."
Clark reminds her audience that although she promotes change, she does not promote the change that David Eby and the NDP advocate.
"I don't think anyone really wants us to throw the baby out with the bathwater," says Clark. "I don't think people in this community want us to radically change the direction Premier Campbell showed on climate change, for example."
Between reiterating her campaign vows on cap and trade and carbon taxes, holding off until the "research is in" on the Enbridge pipeline, and addressing seismic upgrades to schools, Clark raises an issue that has become a focal point for both her and Eby.
"Another stark difference that exists between the NDP and myself is that I don't think we should be legalizing hard drugs," says Clark, alluding to Eby's approach to dealing with addiction. "I think we should be getting people off drugs."
Clark then turns to an issue one might think wouldn't have much resonance in this urban riding with its high percentage of affluent families. She hits hard at polygamy.
"As a woman who has experienced how hard it is sometimes for women to get ahead, I have to say I disagree with polygamy. I think polygamy is a way for women, children, young girls to be exploited."
About half way into the 70-minute discussion and before getting into a Vancouver Police Department cruiser to go and see "first-hand" the difficulties in the Downtown Eastside, the premier also manages to joke about Eby's anti-censorship stance on what riders on BC Ferries can view on the Internet.
Two things become clear by the end of the night.
One, that tonight's event will be the closest thing Point Grey residents get to see of Clark's well-oiled campaign machine wrestle with local issues before the byelection. And two, the Liberals have a close eye on Eby, who has become a real contender with only a few days left before it's time to vote.
"I wonder if some other issues might come up that David Eby has certain feelings on that we find to be somewhat extreme," says Clark's campaign manager Michele Cadaris. "I think when you are talking about a race that is undoubtedly going to be close, you should also look at what the other candidates stand for."
'Stephen Harper-style' tactics
Eby prefers to read as a positive development Clark's jabs at him at her town hall meeting. It's something new for his opponent, he says.
"Last night, for the first time, Christy Clark actually said my name and attacked me personally. That says to me that their polling is suggesting that we're doing really, really well."
Eby accuses Clark of running a "Stephen Harper-style" campaign, picking out policy arguments he made as a human rights lawyer for Pivot Legal Society and then as executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association and twisting them for maximum advantage.
He publicly opposed anti-polygamy laws in a 2010 24 Hours article.
"We don't have to endorse Bountiful to believe enforcing a Victorian morality code through the threat of arrest and jail is wrong. Most importantly, we don't need the criminal polygamy law to fix the problems alleged at Bountiful," wrote Eby, in reference to the polygamist Mormon fundamentalist group in B.C.
But Eby says Clark and other BC Liberals took his arguments out of context, "spinning" the facts to depict him as "in favour of Bountiful."
"So you can't have a serious discussion about the fact that the law is not working without getting a black and white leaflet dropped off at family stores that say I'm in favour of 16 year-old girls marrying 50 year-old men," he says. "That is very Stephen Harper."
On drug policy, Eby says he makes no apologies for his position. "I think we need to treat drug addiction as a health issue and not a criminal issue."
But Clark's party is clearly pressing the point. Eby "has taken radical and extreme positions that run directly counter to protecting and strengthening British Columbia families," wrote Chilliwack Liberal MLA John Les in the letter addressed to NDP party leader Adrian Dix made available to the media. Les referenced Eby's positions on polygamy, legalization of illicit drugs and the BC Ferries decision to prevent its passengers viewing explicit material while using the ferries' wireless Internet.
"That's classic," quips Eby. "So BC Ferries has screening software that blocks information about sexual health and also reproductive choice. I say in the media, 'This screening software is too stringent, why is information about sexual health and abortion blocked like it's hardcore pornography? It's a message of censorship,' and then they say, 'David Eby is in favour of people viewing porn on the ferries.'"
Les also questioned whether Eby's positions are indicative of the party's.
"NDP policy is consistent with my own policy on so many issues," says Eby.
"I don't think [the provincial NDP party] has a policy except to support Insite and examine all the different forms of dealing with drug addiction. So as far as that goes, we are definitely on the same page."
Christy Clark: Her campaign advisor admits race is 'going to be close.' Photo: Justin Langille.
What Clark is trying to do, Eby says, is divert attention to the policies of Pivot Legal Society and B.C. Civil Liberties Association, and away from the issues facing Point Grey constituents.
Likewise, drug policy and polygamy laws are federal concerns, he says. "She doesn't even want to talk about what the community issues are. She wants to talk about something that we can't even do anything about."
Eby is starting to get, in his words, "a little fired up," as the conversation turns to where he and Clark differ on climate change.
"She said that I was 'all over the map on climate change,' which was funny. What she's talking about is these IPPs [Independent Power Producers] and run of the river projects, which I'm incredibly opposed to, which have driven up our hydro rates, and handed huge profits to the BC Liberal pals who are running these projects at the expense of BC Hydro customers."
Eby says guaranteeing that BC Hydro must pay top dollar for electricity from private producers is "a model that's costing more people more money for no reason except for ideology around privatization" and that "to say I'm opposed to green energy projects, is laughable."
Now Eby is even more fired up. "She's got oil and gas executives running her transition team, she wants to run a pipeline from the tar sands to send tar sands oil through where there has been a moratorium on tankers for 30 years and she says that I'm all over the map on climate issues."
In the last election the NDP proposed moratoriums on private power generation on rivers and tankers along the coast. But the same party ran against the Campbell government's centerpiece initiative billed as a counter to global warming: the carbon tax. Then NDP leader Carole James led her party its vow to "axe the tax."
This election, the NDP's choice to vanquish Gordon Campbell's replacement says, "If the NDP had the same position on the carbon tax that we ran in the last election, I don't think I would have run for the party because I think we need to progressive and aggressive on climate change. And we need to be a green party. And we need to be leaders in the environment and sustainability."
Adds Eby, "I wouldn't be able to explain it to people on the doorstep -- something like that that I just didn't believe in."
Public education
Eby walks up to his campaign headquarters, dutifully but casually addressing nearly everyone he passes.
The dimly lit office -- a decommissioned Japanese restaurant on Broadway -- is adorned with Eby banners and flags.
Patti Bacchus, Vancouver School Board chair, and Shane Simpson, NDP MLA for Vancouver-Hastings, arrive shortly after Eby. In a show of support, they plan to go door-knocking with Eby for the afternoon.
"I see it from the parent angle and the school angle," says Bacchus, collecting a map of the riding and some recent polling data.
"And having had some conversations with David about that, he really gets it and sees that foundational piece that schools are in creating a really just and healthy society."
For Bacchus the choice to support Eby was a "no-brainer."
"You know the whole reason I got involved in school board politics was to fight back against what Christy Clark did to public education," she says.
Justice Susan Griffin found in April that Clark, education minister at the time, failed to properly consult with the BC Teachers' Federation regarding legislation that eliminated teachers rights to bargain the size of their classes.
Bacchus, Simpson and Eby make their way down Broadway, headed eastward to the heart of the riding. Turning south on Collingwood Street, Eby references polling data that ranks voters on a scale from one to four, with ones leaning NDP. "These are both ones," he says, noting two homes he has already visited, and then going on to recount in detail the residents' responses.
There's a reason he knows Kitsilano's doorsteps so well, and is getting to know them even better. "The strategy is you look for where we did really well but where there was a low turn out, to try and bump that number up to get more votes out. You won't see Christy Clark in Kits, and I'm not going to be knocking on the doors of Point Grey Road until I'm elected as their MLA." In other words, he's mining even more votes where he already sense there are many.
Livin' on a prayer
A bright sun appears through an otherwise cloud-filled sky. The first signs of a pleasant day and an ensuing Canucks puck-drop mean most residents aren't home.
At the corner of 11th Avenue and Collingwood Street, Eby scribbles "Sorry I missed you. Hope you'll consider voting NDP on May 11" on the back of an over-sized business card. He tucks it in the doorjamb and moves on to the next house.
Simpson and Bacchus are not far ahead.
"I kept hearing from all of my friends and neighbours, because I live up in Point Grey, how frustrated they were to have a premier who just wanted to use the riding to come in and get a seat and not really having the ties or interest," says Bacchus.
Simpson agrees. "The reality is over 15 years of Gordon Campbell you essentially had an absentee MLA because he was off being the premier. And now they're being asked by Ms. Clark to take another absentee MLA, and I'm not so sure that's what the people of Point Grey want."
When Christy Clark was an afternoon radio host on CKNW, her chipper voice daily found its way into people's cars and kitchens.
David Eby lately has been showing up on people's computer screens in a video of him singing Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" to the NDP Leadership Assembly on April 17.
Clark has repeatedly turned down offers to debate on the radio station that once employed her.
Then again, you won't hear Eby singing Bon Jovi during this campaign, either. "No," he says, "I swore to everyone that I wouldn't sing karaoke again until I win." ![[Tyee]](http://thetyee.cachefly.net/ui/img/ico_fishie.png){kind=small}
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Frank
2 years ago
Eby
Eby is an excellent candidate, certainly a better one than Clark is. He'd make an excellent MLA for Point Grey.
perplexis
2 years ago
Postmedia Flattery
Postmedia refuses to publish a single pic of either Christy Clark or Diane Watts, where they aren't beaming is painted smiles. And they won't say a single word about Clark's use of province wide promises, to advance her own election. Do we have a "free press" where content is devised to machine thought.
Dan the socialist
2 years ago
The problem is people in BC
The problem is people in BC are sheep and that explains why nothing at all sticks to right wing politicians like Harper and Clark.
Amazing she could even be chosen Liberal leader and will win next election (unless a third party can split the vote to let the NDP win_) with all the unanswered questions about BC Rail.
people seem to like voting for people that do not have their best interests at heart. Weird really.
jim1966
2 years ago
Let's Hope Voters Choose Eby
I would if I lived in Point Grey, he is by far the better choice to represent this riding and it shows.
jennywren20
2 years ago
David Eby and Polygamy
David Eby believes polygamy should be decriminalized. He has not researched the subject properly, he's only skimmed the surface. If he had, he would know that polygamy was arranged by men for men at a time when women were considered nothing but chattels and sexual collectibles.He also ignores the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, which Canada ratified on 18 Oct. 2002, and is legally obligated to uphold. It states polygamy contravenes women's equality rights and also harms their children. David Eby, stop trying to dilute/cancel women's guaranteed equality rights! You're no friend to women and children.
Jeffrey J.
2 years ago
Even Right Wing Bloggers Dislike Ms. Clark
Amazing to read the right wing bloggers who are taking aim at Ms. Clark's candidacy. So it looks like it isn't just the left wing.
http://alexgtsakumis.com/2011/05/09/christy-clarks-point-grey-by-election-the-townhall-that-never-was-and-her-media-image-melting/
Mr. Eby is a deeply principled lawyer and social justice advocate. Very rare these days.
El Orso
2 years ago
The Media comes through for Christy the Clown
Unfortunately, the Globe & Mail, Vancouver Sun and the CBC came out big time for Clark this morning by running wild with the Kimberly Pollock story. This was done deliberately to reinforce the NDP = infighting/instability meme in swing voters.
Wow - World Press Freedom Day really is a joke, isn't it?
Barryeng
2 years ago
Local Issues?
What everyone seems to be forgetting is that David Eby is running to become the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, not to be the premier of the province. I have trouble believing that IPP's and polygamy are going to be big issues in an area that does not have a run-of-the-river project on its doorstep.
While I agree that these are important issues, I think that they should be dealt with at a provincial level, and not be the main focus of a local by-election. Are there no local issues worthy of reporting in Point Grey?
verso
2 years ago
Pollock
I don't know, El Orso, The Tyee has a story about it today, too:
http://thetyee.ca/Blogs/TheHook/Rights-Justice/2011/05/09/PollockThreat/
It's news worthy. I think reasonable people will see this for what is, though: an individual who has taken their dislike for a politician too far.
Frank
2 years ago
jennywren20
I doubt very much a BC Civil Rights lawyer doesn't understand the history of polygamy as well as someone who... how exactly does one describe Christy Clark? Has she ever had a real job?
I'm pretty sure that if there's an epidemic of polygamy in Point Grey David Eby can handle it.
rantnic
2 years ago
jennywren20
[SNIDE COMMENT DIRECTED AT ANOTHER COMMENTER REMOVED. -MODERATOR.]
I thought that the above article explained reasonably well that Mr. Eby Speaks, not in favour of polygamy, but against an unworkable law as written. The sooner we have people like him in government, the sooner we can properly address these issues, change the laws and ensure women's equality rights. Meanwhile right wing knee jerk reactions do us all a disservice, except, for perhaps Ms.Clark.
Skywalker
2 years ago
A good analysis.
It also shows how desperate the liberal are. If you can't debate issues then create/spin some diversion. jennywren20 proves it works.
Go David go!
Conductor274
2 years ago
HST
Don't forget about the HST. Clark is in favor of keeping the HST to benefit her corporate bosses.
Clark's refusal to take part in public debates speaks volumes about her past political life. She was a disaster as education minister and her ties to many of the people involved in the BC Rail scandal are well documented. She's nothing more than another Campbell clone who'll lie to your face and betray you after she gets elected.
OhCanada
2 years ago
jennywren20
And you know all this from ..... ?
Before you start accusing people on this and that you should make sure to back up your claims with hard facts.
You just sounded like someone reading controlled press that is full of lies and personal attacks without any justification of facts.
I hope you don't live in Point Grey.
El Orso
2 years ago
@ Pollock
There's a difference between posting an item in a blog like 'The Hook' and a banner headline in what's supposed to be the Paper of Record. I'm one of Jenny Kwan's constituents, and I backed her when she called for Carole's resignation. The two questions with resepct to the Pollock charges that have to be answered are:
1. Who does this benefit?
2. Why is it happening NOW?
We know from the B.C. Rail Trial that the collusion between this government, the media, the police and the courts runs from the subtle to the obvious.
"Reasonable people" will see it as the actions of a single person with issues, but unfortunately, most B.C. voters are idiotic sheep who believe whatever the Baldrey/Good/Mason/Palmer/Smyth cabal tells them to.
Luck
2 years ago
What is wrong with Eby
What is wrong with Eby representing Point Grey!
Why absolutely nothing!
Poor, homeless and rich live their in harmony!
He would make a great MLA candidate with equal representation in mind.
BC needs to sort out BC Rail, seniors pensions, BC Ferries,Inclusive education alternatives, Forestry fiasco, Mineral wealth, human resources wealth, Alternative green energy, Healthcare, Homelessness, Social Housing, Job creation,and on and on.
BC is a economically last place Province in Canada.
NDP can and will sort this out for the people of BC.
Eby and other MLA's are schooled in research and farness as his work position attests.
People in BC have a negative fixation regarding NDP.
Get over it now.
Have a look at the rest of Canada who voted NDP Federally.
Even Quebec.
NDP message is loud and clear people, they represent the people of all walks of life.
This is a good thing. The best direction.
Good on you NDP Canada Federally and Provincially.
BC vote NDP Provincially and you will see a balanced government that recognizes people and business equally.
That is a good thing. NDP. The best direction for BC provincial recovery program.
Remember to get out and vote.
Nimno
2 years ago
naive?
Is this the same fellow who went up north to attend a meeting about police methods wrt street people misbehavin? Activist groups stacked the meeting with folks with an axe to grind & young Mr Eby seems to have bought the line of systematic police malpractise hl&s.
Maybe a strong dose of cynicism is required for politicians.
dorothy
2 years ago
This and that
"I have trouble believing that IPP's and polygamy are going to be big issues in an area that does not have a run-of-the-river project on its doorstep."
Right. At the same time, this question is an acid test for grasping or not, the big picture. Obviously, we've already broken the 'one man - one woman' paradigm by instituting same-sex marriage. People could perhaps claim that this leaves the field wide open for all sorts of other permutations, including some forms of polygamy. The trouble with that is, this cannot but evoke the specter of dealing with Muslim life-styles and the four wives concept, where, to the best of my knowledge, the only rules and regs are embedded in sharia law - which we cannot use,since we are and wish to remain a secular society - such as you can have up to four wives, but only if you can offer them equal, and equally decent, styles of living. If your finances won't stretch to that, you must do with fewer, possibly only one, wife.
Dave Eby, probably knowing all of this, because he is not too busy, as is Christy Clark, to debate and read books and all that sort of contemplative stuff, may have said and certainly thought, that it was better to let this particular dog continue its solid snore and target other aspects of the dirty-old-man issues in Bountiful and elsewhere in order to see the situation rectified.
I am a member of the federal Liberal party. I cannot, as I have said before, recognize a shred of Liberal characteristics in Ms. Clark and the seedbed from which she grew as a politician. It is no coincidence that provincial and Federal liberals are two separate organizations. For many years, there were bitter tension and friction between the all-out Liberals and the so-called hyphenated ones, who voted Socred in Provincial elections or supported or even ran for the party...Now I see the provincial party as pure Socred with a co-opted name, as I am sure many thinking people do.
My reason for not voting for Clark is very clear: I have not heard one word, woman to woman, or seen one action by this lady, which has sent me good vibes and given me the feeling there was somebody there. I see her as a faceplate of a machine I don't need, don't like, and wouldn't spend a penny of my hard-earned dollars buying. Trusting my instincts has never let me down before. I don't think it will now.
offended
2 years ago
The moderator at Clark's Clown Hall
is an executive of an IPP.
Did nobody notice this except Tsakumis?
Vox.Pop
2 years ago
Vote for a Loser
What a shallow person is Prissy-Chrissy. Just smile at the camera, utter a few (well-written) words (by someone else) & move on to the next photo-op, where her shills in Global TV & CTV will promote her image to the public. This lady is not even Gordon Campbell in drag. King Gordo was a despot but he wasn't stupid (arrogant to a fault, yes - but not stupid). Princess Chrissy's handlers (like Gwyn Morgan) know her limitations & work hard for her lack of smarts to be hidden from the voters.
Oh well, it may be for the best that the voters in the richest constituency in BC elect her this time. She will make a very weak leader of the BC Lieberals in the upcoming provincial election - all the easier to get rid of the whole bunch of scoundrels.
PS Why do people still refer to Prissy as the BC premier? She is the leader of the governing party but is not an MLA. Can any non-MLA be premier? If so, why doesn't "the Wizard of Oz" (Morgan) come out from behind the curtain & declare himself premier?
NicS
2 years ago
Its about moral values.
The BC New Democrats are about a caring/empathetic gov't. Our moral values are more important than so called "market values". Christy Clark's BC Liberals believe in "market values", those are their moral compasses. A completely false assummption.
"Markets are outside the scope of moral judgements"(GeorgeLakoff) and values. True "free markets" cannot externalize the costs of our moral values. The NDP's progressive values are about universal human rights, Christy Clark and the BC Liberals have proven that their only moral values are the markets, with all the failings and inability to take into account human values.
JLSREPORT
2 years ago
An open letter to Christy
An open letter to Christy Clark.
The other day I could not help but notice you went out of your way to tell the public you were a waitress, you wanted to let the voters feel that you are one of them.
I have a question for you in regards to your new minimum wage policy that leaves not only myself wondering but also every water and waitress in British Columbia.
Your claim that they should not see the benefit of wage increases stems from your claim that they are making tips. Everyone in the food and beverage business and everyone in government know that most people never declare their tips, or full amount of their tips.
Would you as a the present Premier of British Columbia prove to the public that you did not cheat the tax department and paid your share of taxes on tips you made as a waitress?
Please understand I have no interest in your tax return other than to disclose to the public if you practice the honesty your preach.
Understand also that this is an answer that should be disclosed to the general public who might have to consider voting for the Liberal Party after the shameful lies of your predecessor. Please take the time to prove to us things have changed.
HawkinsDallman
2 years ago
Luck
"Have a look at the rest of Canada who voted NDP Federally"
I really don't have time for this today 9so this will be my only post), but let's just get one simple FACT straight (that was pointed out on another post here last week, I believe): More people outside of Quebec (ROC) voted Conservative than the NDP and Liberals COMBINED. In the ROC, the NDP vote increased 6.9% over 2008; the Conservative vote increased 4.4%. You can write all the bias "insight" you want; but the reality is in the numbers.
Ricky
2 years ago
Barryeng
Did you not read the article? Rapid transit, tenant's rights, and healthcare (UBC hospital, anyone?) were all raised... by David Eby. He only talked about provincial issues in response to Christy's BS and pointed out himself how silly it is to mix provincial issues with local ones, stating, "She doesn't even want to talk about what the community issues are. She wants to talk about something that we can't even do anything about."
beatleye
2 years ago
Send Clark Packing
When I used walk around Point Grey I was often sickened to see signs to elect Gordon Campbell (who we all knew would resign, or be fired, in disgrace), and now the same greedy fools who elected that liar, and who clearly have some need to make their ignorance public, have signs up to elect crusty clerk. Are they wilfully stupid or just shamefully ignorant ad/or arrogant? Are they not embarrassed to publicly support people who repeatedly lie to them and steal from them? Every time I see one of these signs I am ashamed to live here, in a city that was, before the greed moved in, a place that never would have permitted these people to run for office, never mind hold it. That never would have repeatedly voted for more poverty, more homelessness, inadequate hospitals, schools, childcare. Then again, those serve the working class which you clearly feel yourself above. You're not, since without working people, a fact the press tries to have us forget, there would be no wealth at all - to squander on war and red mitts, and your increasingly parasitic heads. These idiots, by refusing to check the information presented to them by the kept press, perpetuate the disintegration of this once fine place into the mean, broke, violent, status-obsessed hell it has become. Recall, "Mr and Mrs I, Me, Mine" that your choices for leaders (Campbell, Harper, and Clerk) are responsible for a country which you now have to vote for people like that to protect you from. Feel good about promoting the thoughtless, self-obsessed agendas of the ugg boot, self-obsessed cell-phonies like you that now move throughout this city like a rash? Vote for that clerk fool and just watch and see how long it takes you to remove those signs from your lawns if you are possessed of enough decency to be as embarrassed by them as we are - those of us with self respect. Vote this time as if there are people in the world besides you, because the world you are creating will likely have you on the street soon enough.
Frank
2 years ago
Setting the record straight
The NDP and liberal combined popular vote was 49.5%
The Conservative popular vote was 39.6%
The Greens got 3.7% of the vote.
The NDP vote increased by more than the Conservative vote or any other party's.
The number of people who listed the NDP or the Liberals as their second choice was 55% of people who had a second choice. Only 13% selected the Conservatives as their second choice.
cboo44
2 years ago
Too Bad
In spite of what the mindless NDP PR types say, it's really too bad that the NDP couldn't come up with a more credible candidate for Point Grey. By installing an idiot-fringe clown like Eby, they have conceded the by-election to Crispy. Point Grey was theirs to win, but like so many times, they just don't quite "get it".
An opportunity to knock off one of the co-conspirators of Campbell's Giveaway Gang and they did not go all out to win. DUMB.
It does not give me much hope for the provincial election to be called this fall.
John Greg
2 years ago
cboo44, um ...
exactly how/why is Eby not credible? And exactly how/why is he a clown? Could you perhaps try to present something tangible and specific?
wcullen
2 years ago
Hook, Line, and Sinker...
Clark's actions speak louder (and more clearly than) her words.
For example, Clark states that "Part of my commitment is to make sure that government is open to citizens, because I know we cannot do what citizens want us to do -- cannot reflect your priorities -- unless we talk to you, unless we listen to you," says Clark."
Yet, after platforming on giving parents and other stakeholders a greater voice in education, she refused to accept, meet with, or discuss the over 14,000 letters that the grass-roots (non-affiliated) organization "Save Our Schools" had gathered.
If you want to vote for Clark go ahead. But don't come on here and parrot her rhetoric, let alone her rhetoric--like the above--that is contradicted by her own public record.
Stating things like David Eby is "for" polygamy or for "decriminalizing of hard drugs" is more than disingenuous--it's an outright and conscious fabrication.
Eby said spoke on these issues in his capacity as a Civil Liberties Lawyer, and in reference to these issues AS civil liberties issues. Not as a political candidate. In case you're not aware, this makes him honest to his mandates in two different capacities.
If you cannot see the difference between his role as a civil liberties lawyer and his position as a political figure for the NDP, well, I can't help you there.
Eby, whether you like him or not is not the point, is on record clearly explaining his positions and statements. And, there is ample evidence behind his positions.
You may not agree with the evidence, but then if you want to be intellectually honest and be taken serious, then debate those points you disagree with clearly and specifically. Don't go parroting the vacuous rhetoric of a self-promoting, fickle opponent like Clark.
She playing you for sheep and you're biting.
Again, vote for who you want, I'm not telling you who you should vote for. But have the insight and courage to at least state you OWN positions on subjects, and, equally, check your source in Clark--much of what she's saying is contrary to her record: like it or not.
DPL
2 years ago
Failed as Minster of
Failed as Minster of Education. Made a mess of Ministry of Children and Families. quit to look after her kid, then took a run to represent the NPA for Mayor of Vancouver. Had a total of one Liberal MLA supporting her, por selection of inner circle supporters, the list goes on. No great signs of leadership as far as I can see.
crh
2 years ago
hawkinsdallman
"Have a look at the rest of Canada who voted NDP Federally"
I really don't have time for this today 9so this will be my only post), but let's just get one simple FACT straight (that was pointed out on another post here last week, I believe): More people outside of Quebec (ROC) voted Conservative than the NDP and Liberals COMBINED. In the ROC, the NDP vote increased 6.9% over 2008; the Conservative vote increased 4.4%. You can write all the bias "insight" you want; but the reality is in the numbers."
So how long do you plan on claiming that anyone from Quebec isn't a Canadian?
Skywalker
2 years ago
Ask yourself this question.
If you were in need of an advocate, who would you choose, Clark or Eby?
Cool Hand
2 years ago
The Black Bloc
While the majority of BC'ers supported the Olympics and that figure was rather over-whelming - Dave Eby lost most of his cache when he supported Olympic dissidents who were were prepared for civil disobedience, such as sit-down demonstration to block an intersection.
Not good politics.
More telling, Eby said there was a hint that the protest would turn violent when his group was asked by a faction of the protesters not to send legal observers to the march, saying they were worried they’d been infiltrated by police and could have their video documentation used as evidence in court.
And Eby adhered to those requests.
Then the Black Bloc conducted their criminal acts in downtown Vancouver, turning BC'ers against these protesters.
That's the David Eby that I remember.
Rather it's most of Quebecers who claim that they are sovereignists/nationalists rather than Canadian.
Blake
2 years ago
My vote is already in
I voted for Eby and I think he has a good chance of winning. His signs, unlike Clark's, are posted throughout the point grey area. Clark's signs are the large ones and are found on the north side where the multi-million dollar homes are, where the rich and selfish live. Honestly, these rich fascists only vote liberal and conservative because all they care about is themselves. They don't like to pay taxes because they send their brats to private schools, they use private hospitals, they would rather die than use public transit and community centres or libraries. They would rather live in a gated community with people dying all around them than pay one cent in tax. It makes me sick. [OFFENSIVE COMMENT REMOVED. -MODERATOR.]
davidex
2 years ago
VOTE!!! JUST VOTE!!!
Wonderful comments, all!
NOW JUST GET OUT AND VOTE -
Wednesday (tomorrow) May 11th
8AM - 8PM.
Find your poll and get over there.
Bring your neighbours. Drag them if necessary.
No excuses!!!
Hate all the candidates? No excuse. Get to the poll!!
Chris Keam
2 years ago
Overwhelmingly inaccurate
CoolHand claimed:
"While the majority of BC'ers supported the Olympics and that figure was rather over-whelming"
But that's inaccurate according to this City information:
"On December 10, 2002 City Council decided to hold a vote on Vancouver's participation in hosting the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games. The "Olympic Vote" took place on February 22, 2003. The results were 64% in favour of the Olympic Bid (voter turn-out was 50%)."
http://vancouver.ca/ctyclerk/olympicvote/olympicindex.htm
Factor in those who didn't vote and the rest of BC, where resentment against the massive spending on Vancouver while cities and rural areas outside the Lower Mainland was evident in many an online comment and the most realistic assessment of the Olympic is that it was supported by some undefinable portion of the population that may have been slightly larger than those opposed. However, any claim that support was overwhelming is false.
Chris Keam
2 years ago
correction
'resentment against the massive spending on Vancouver while cities and rural areas outside the Lower Mainland dealt with unemployment and the loss of industry.'
Chris Keam
2 years ago
Black Bloc
"Then the Black Bloc conducted their criminal acts in downtown Vancouver, turning BC'ers against these protesters. "
Sadly, there were Olympic security forces also arrested for breaking the law during the 2010 Games. Holding Eby responsible for the Black Bloc's actions makes no more sense than attaching the misdeeds of the police during the event to Quatchi.
mot
2 years ago
Christy Clark
Christy Clark puts me in mind of a young H. Clinton w/o a law degree.
Horrifying.
Cool Hand
2 years ago
Chris Keam
Welcome to the Real World:
1. "87% of British Columbians Support Vancouver/Whistler's Bid to Host the 2010 Winter Olympics"
Ipsos-Reid - November 07, 2000
http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?&id=1108
2. Close to a year after the Opening Ceremony to the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Winter Games, the vast majority of British Columbians 81% agree that the Games were a success—polling numbers that have not diminished since the end of the Games, when over 80% were very or somewhat excited about the Games.
Ipsos-Reid - February 11, 2011
http://www.ipsos-na.com/news-polls/pressrelease.aspx?id=5130
RickW
2 years ago
jennywren20
Nothing wrong with polygamy - as long as it is balanced with polyandry or line marriages.
Besides, it take a village to raise a child.
RickW
2 years ago
Cool Hand Ol' Sport
That Ipsos-Reid - November 07, 2000 was when the NDP were still in. I suggest you find something closer to the 2010 date - else you might be accused of being a socialist.
G West
2 years ago
Lukie
There's a difference between a vote and a poll.
I'm surprised you didn't know that.
rantnic
2 years ago
Christy on the Payroll
I heard the big "C" on the radio today, saying that because she is on the payroll as premier she must do her premierly duties even before and above campaigning in her hopeful riding.
I would ask is her pay that of a premier or that for what she actually is, the figurehead of a political party un-elected and in no way yet qualified to dine at the public trough. We might if we wanted to show good grace allow her to claim, only the difference between a real elected MLA's salary and that of a premier. For someone without a mandate, gained through a public election even that salary seems to be too much for this taxpayer.
Perhaps the party that elected Ms. Crunch should pay Ms. Crunch until such time as she is mandated by the voting public.
off-the-radar
2 years ago
how desperate are the BC Liberals?
first there was the funny timing of the Kim Pollock story (which seems to have had little impact despite the lurid headlines).
And now there is the scuzzy Courier attack on David Eby picked up the Province (complete with a very unflattering photo of Mr. Eby).
Wow. Is this desperation in the BC Liberal camp? I sure hope so.
Iwonder
2 years ago
Polygamy jennywren20
jennywren20
13 hours ago
Polygamy can also be one woman and more than one man.
Having more than one spouse at a time
Iwonder
2 years ago
Premier CC
A CC by any other name is still the same.
Iwonder
2 years ago
Democracy
How can it be considered democratic to have an unelected person as Premier of a province. It is NOT
Iwonder
2 years ago
David
OK Ladies--STOP projecting those naughty fantasies.
HawkinsDallman
2 years ago
Rantnic - FYI
"un-elected and in no way yet qualified to dine at the public trough. We might if we wanted to show good grace allow her to claim, only the difference between a real elected MLA's salary and that of a premier"
Just so you know, that is exactly what has happened: An MLA's base salary is $101,859.00/yr, and a Premier's is an additional $50,930.00/yr. Up to this point she has only been paid the Premier stipend. As for the being "unelected and(therefore) in no way yet qualified to dine at the public trough", I would add that there are approximately 408,000 (unelected) Provincial government employees that might respectfully disagree with you (and some might even be offended).
perplexis
2 years ago
Kimberley Pollack
Someone brought up "Kimberly Pollock" so I guess the subject is fair game, because Eby could be unhappy with both the prosecution and undemocratic media slant. The feces-on-roof admission, suggests a "mischief" complaint might be warranted. But the "threat of death or bodily harm" law is highly subjective. If properly applied it requires absolute proof of a present ability to take a plain and obvious motivation to take to effect the cause of either death or injury. While Pollack's attorney is hush on the facts - a challenge on law, is near certain - because what almost certainly happened was: Pollack communicated to Kwan's hubby (a Portland Hotel Society administrator) displeasure of her commitment to new party leadership and Kwan got cop notice. Special Prosecution was required because of Kwan was a former VPD Criminologist. In order for the law to fall on complaint "facts," all the "victim" has to do is declare that "fear" arises from the alleged "threat." Whether or not the "fear" was real, rational or other, there is no defence to a complaint. Perversely, a charge is a conviction, and only mitigation is allowed. In fact, the chief justice of the Supreme Court of BC upheld the conviction of a man who told a VPD officer that third parties might react to his investigation of same. Conviction fell even though the "fear" driven cop only arrested the man the next day, and on orders of a superior.
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/sc/07/06/2007bcsc0692.htm
If I was Pollack, I would sack legal counsel, and engage maximum public scrutiny on all parties who are advancing judgment-without-defence. The absolute worst thing he can do is allow "will-say" jello to congeal, and wait for an inevitably harsh, judicial determination. Put the facts out there, Kimberly, and your peers will ensure proper disposition. Or: face railroading.
zalm
2 years ago
Interesting set of facts...
One is forced to agree that conviction without defence is a sorry state of affairs not to be tolerated, but so is the alternative. Public scrutiny will be met by charges of "rape by media" by the victim, and a donnyborook will ensue about whose rights should take precedence - the right of someone to freely express his or her opinion (and both Pollock and Kwan would know what a Section 8 is) versus the right of a person on the wrong end of a gender-power imbalance to feel secure.
There's no good end to that kind of argument, particularly for the Left in BC. How to make it go away?
Bobby Peru
2 years ago
Will the real David Eby please stand up?
Eby has nothing to offer the Point Grey riding except an NDP tactical effort to try derail Clark as soon as possible. Not only does he have no constructive economic and business policies to offer the most prosperous riding in Vancouver, but his sole agenda as a social activist contradicts what Point Grey stands for. [UNSUBSTANTIATED ALLEGATION REMOVED. -MODERATOR.].
How ludicrous that this Tyee feature highlights evicted tenants from Kits- one of the more expensive streets. Instead of devoting an entire section to the social injustice, it would been easier to explain to the tenants that they should move to a cheaper area of Vancouver or sleep on nearby Kits beach. Many of the successful people living in Point Grey are landlords. And any landlord will tell you that they need to make a profit, increase rents and reinvest in the property so it won't become a slum. But, Eby's crusade against "profits" seems at odds with the constituents of a wealth area.
Could you imagine Eby as the MLA holding a town hall meeting? All Eby would bray about is social justice and how Point Grey should do more to help the homeless, like allowing them to camp in the park. Or how we should rise up against the establishment- when this riding is the establishment. That Eby is a protester of the police and the establishment makes him a kind of anti-MLA, doesn't it?
Then there's the Eby that allows the black bloc or the violent, balaclava clad protesters into his group during the Olympic protests, giving them cover to destroy private property owned by honest, hard working small and large businesses. Surely, Eby knew what was going on.
Does Point Grey need this kind of man as their MLA? Do Point Grey voters know what kind of nihilist they may be voting for? And why does the NDP insist on immolating itself by supporting these [UNSUBSTANTIATED CHARACTERIZATION REMOVED. -MODERATOR.] like Eby and Dix who justify any action to drag us into their socialist nirvana?
rantnic
2 years ago
Vetted and hired civil servants
are hired by the government to work for the government. They were not hired by the B.C. Liberal Party. MLA's are hired by the voters. Lets see if they really want to hire Christy. In the mean time I still think that her $51K stipend per year along with all of the expenses she is incurring should be payed by those bosses who hired her. The B.C. Liberal Party.
dorothy
2 years ago
Nihilism and such...
"Eby has nothing to offer the Point Grey riding except an NDP tactical effort to try derail Clark.."
Funny that you should use that expression. For that of course is what we are all wondering here in PG - where the lady is with regard to, well, the rails. But since she has chosen one-way communication with her supposed constituents, I for one am not impressed with the offerings from her so far. No place for my questions. At least not in the public setting, but I WAS offered for her to address any 'unsettling questions...with me', while of course I would like for her to do it with the public, as one would be prepared to do if no bamboozling was in the offing...
As far as Eby 'surely knowing what was going on' - by the same token, Clark must have known everything that was going on, as she was sitting on the sidelines planning all along to step into the fray and help out her compadres with a quick, charming sweep of this riding, eh? I hope we don't have to suppose she was blind, dumb and deaf to all the machinations done by such self-serving cads as Basi, Basi, and Virk...I mean if she is that oblivious, we cannot even think of having her at the helm, right?
I don't believe I can buy Eby as a 'nihilist', not as well as I can buy Christy as the same. If she cared about our public health care, I would like to see something more convincing than a flip of a switch on discovering the unpopularity of one's views, and I would like to see somebody else advising the aspiring captainess than, say, Gwyn Morgan...
I find it scary that people abhor a few radicals among the people Dave Eby happened to harbor more than they abhor the grotesquely-over-the-top draconian pre-emptive stuff that went on around the G20. Can Maccarthy's ghost be far away? Now there was a 'nihilist'; no trust whatsoever in his fellow human beings; he went for the 'kill them all, God will know his own' doctrine. No. My guts still say, stick with the man who stands tall out in the open instead of hiding in the shadows...I think they both understand 'nihil sine labore', but it's all about how and where you put in your labors, eh?
dorothy
2 years ago
The establishment
"..Or how we should rise up against the establishment- when this riding is the establishment. That Eby is a protester of the police and the establishment.."
Yeah, I'm sure the folks around fourth and Alma, and other such mixed residential places, as well all the students in basement suites feel very much part of the Canadian establishment as described in Newman's books!
Has it occurred to you that the people in 'this riding' include a lot of people who hold degrees and are academic workers? Although I have moved among them an in general find them a bit more stolid and 'establishment'-oriented than their European counterparts, they still tend to be mostly on the side of social criticism where warranted, and it is often warranted in this place which, to some people, is best described as the end of the tracks, with a good deal of redneck-ism by and large.
I think I can imagine Dave Eby at the front of a town hall, at least I've seen him do one thing that would help - show up, while that is more luck-of-the-draw with Ms. Clark.
People's clamations in the line of OMIGOD, can you imagine THAT FELLOW doing this and that is beginning to sound a bit, er, grandmotherly, and I'm not talking raging grannies, but rather on the prissy side. I would advise you not to challenge the ability to imagine things among people in THIS RIDING, for think of all that it has fostered over the years. I believe there is little or no limit to what we can imagine if we really try. Bad line of reasoning.
Skywalker
2 years ago
So what has Christy to offer Vancouver Point Grey?
If Bobby Peru's screed is any indication of the "mentality of entitlement" felt by liberals than anything would be better than more of the same Campbell policies.
G West
2 years ago
@dorothy
Very well put...thank you.
I don't know if you heard Ms Christina on the CBC afternoon show just before dinner last night.
She was well and truly 'handled' by Stephen Quinn...who managed (not for lack of trying) to get NOT A SINGLE STRAIGHT AND HONEST ANSWER OUT OF HER MOUTH.
Luck
2 years ago
TO THE EDITOR
WOULD YOU PLEASE DO AN ARTICLE ON OUR CANADIAN DOLLAR.
IT SEEMS OUR GOVERNMENTS ARE FIXATED WITH THE DECLINE OF OUR DOLLAR TO SURVIVE IN THE WORLD..
PLEASE TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THAT THE EURO IS 1.36 AND THE BRITISH POUND IS 1.86.
CANADA IS DOING FAR BETTER ECONOMICALLY THAN MOST COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD.
SO WHY IN THE WORLD ARE OUR GOVERNMENTS ACTING SO TIMID.
Bobby Peru
2 years ago
Here comes the nihilism or at least poverty pimping
In the current edition of Vancouver Courier, Mark Hasiuk makes an objective characterization of David Eby by detailing all of the activist damage he does in the Downtown Eastside. Almost everything he does is from the terms of promoting animosity especially with the police. "He's an ideologue and a demagogue."
That may be great for the Downtown Eastside, which remains a sewer of hopelessness despite all of Eby's efforts. No amount of money can solve the area's problems. But you can expect Eby the potential MLA to throw lots of taxpayers' dollars at it, perpetuating the poverty pimping industry. Demagogues like Eby have nothing to offer but muckraking protest. And if you put him in a position of power and responsibility he will be a disaster because he neither has the balance, objectivity, patience and compromise to formulate and craft policies that benefit all of us.
That was the problem with Glen Clark. He was a great union thug, but a lousy Premier because he annihilated even his friends in the NDP. And he encouraged or inspired mindless zealots like Dix to commit crimes in order to defend him. These are people who only know how to divide and conquer not unite and govern.
Now the Liberals are certainly not perfect, but if the NDP want to govern this province they better offer more than moral relativity. Or candidates wallpaper their own major flaws. Eby doesn't make a difference or offer real alternatives; he's just a troublemaker who will use the MLA platform to launch more social activism.
G West
2 years ago
@Bobby Peru
You've written this: "Mark Hasiuk makes an objective characterization of David Eby...".
But you haven't provided a single example of anything empirical about Eby - you've simply slammed him with the same kind of drive by buckshot attack you level every time you take a moment out of your busy day to slum it here at the Tyee.
Mind you, a quick look at Hasiuk's string
Frank
2 years ago
BC Liberals go negative
It certainly didn't take long for Christy Clark to go negative and attack her opponent personally. Guess she didn't learn anything from Jack Layton's positive campaign.
It would be great to see another good turnout of the youth vote in this bye-election.
G West
2 years ago
Clipped short from last post
Mind you, a quick look at Hasiuk's string of totally-unsubstantiated innuendo makes it evident why you'd choose him as the basis of your attack.
As for the suggestion that the police are competent to judge their own behavior - especially when it involves firing 8 bullets into a mentally-ill man - I don't think YOU or Hasiuk have a leg to stand on.
G West
2 years ago
I also did a quick search of Mark Hasiuk's work
And it is pretty clear that calling the man a journalist is an offence to what can be a noble profession.
Skywalker
2 years ago
Is this the same prissy Christy Clark..
..who once put a dancing penis on the desk of a gay colleague in the legislature?
HawkinsDallman
2 years ago
Rantnic - FYI
I try to be informative; but your bias gets in the way. By your logic:
"her $51K stipend per year along with all of the expenses she is incurring should be payed by those bosses who hired her" .... I guess Dix should forfeit the extra $28,978.00 that he receives each year for the position of "the leader of the loyal opposition" because he was given that position exclusively by the NDP party and not the voters of BC. If so, than I guess you have a (very weak) argument; if not, you have no defensible position. Either way, you're being silly.
G West
2 years ago
@HawkinsDallman
Not to put too fine a point on it, you might also be advised to remember that vast majority (there are a few Order in Council appointees which are the exception) of those public servants actually have real educational qualifications, many of them have passed specific examinations to get their jobs as well as having complied with provisions of the public service staffing, hiring and application procedures.
The current premier has done none of these things and has none of these qualifications. I do believe she may be qualified to be a waitress however.
Furthermore, to suggest that there are 408,000 public servants who are 'employees' of the provincial government - as you've written - is more than silly.
In fact, there are currently 25,581 full-time employees of the BC Government working in Canada and 2,204 part time employees, 61.64% of these are women.
happy (not verified)
2 years ago
Skywalker
You asked "Is this the same prissy Christy Clark..
..who once put a dancing penis on the desk of a gay colleague in the legislature?"
Not unless there was more than one dancing penis. You meant MacPhail. Naughty girl.
"And she also knows how to handle the limelight and red carpet attention. With her black leather, femme fatale outfits and spiky hair with the ever-changing hue, MacPhail was always a media magnet. And so were her unforgettable antics, such as being part of a group of women MLAs who scandalized many by putting a dancing, plastic penis on the desk of a gay, male colleague during a debate, or wondering what it would be like to have "platonic mind-sex" with federal Liberal Pierre Pettigrew."
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=d9c30784-1ddf-43f3-83c4-916afb66fac2
North of Hope
2 years ago
G West said, "I do believe
G West said, "I do believe she may be qualified to be a waitress however."
I don't think you should be slagging waitresses.
HawkinsDallman
2 years ago
Gwest-Rantic
Yes, that was an error. I should have said “public sector employees in BC”, rather than “provincial government employees”; which the exact number, according to statistics Canada (2008) is 393,016; slightly off the 408,000 that I originally stated (albeit from memory, so grant me some slack there; therefore I would hardly call my original number “silly”). Regardless, the actual number is utterly irrelevant to the point being pursued. Clark won her parties leadership via a party nomination process, the very same as Dix did; their positions (“Premier” and “Leader of the Opposition) are then nominated by their respective caucuses (actually NOT by their parties membership or executive). On the other point, it is rather silly to even imply that ambiguous and subjective qualifications should ever be prerequisites for ANY (and I mean ANY) elected position in this country (and if this was the case, I expect there’d be some nervous newly-minted NDP MP’s from Quebec).
http://www.policyalternatives.ca/sites/default/files/uploads/publications/reports/docs/ccpabc_shrinking_public_sector.pdf
PS Your "waitress" remark (although I realize you were referring to the photo-op) was none-the-less EDITED FOR PERSONAL INSULTS DIRECTED AT ANOTHER COMMENTER -- MODERATOR.
zalm
2 years ago
Things I'd like to see
Christy Clark's next town hall meeting at Pigeon Park on Sunday afternoon, just to set the denizens straight on how bad a job David Eby is doing for them. Bet she draws a lot of attention...
Bobby Peru
2 years ago
One bites the dust
Gwest, just because you don't like the characterization, doesn't mean it isn't true. There's enough quotes and actions by Eby the Downtown Eastside activist to paint him as a radical, unsuited for Point Grey.
But, that's history now since Clark won. If Eby truly is serious about being an MLA he should try a more sympathetic riding.
G West
2 years ago
Thanks for admitting at least part of your error -HawkinsDallman
However, you totally MISSED the rest of the argument.
Public servants have skills and qualifications, experience and education. Christina Clark has none of those - which was the point I was trying to make.
I do believe she 'might' be a decent waitress - she has demonstrated none of the skills and attributes necessary to 'earn' the kind of salary her job attracts.
Unlike the people who work for her, she is totally unqualified to be premier and she couldn't win a job competition for a a clerk 3.
That's the point.
Bobby - the characterization was FALSE and there was no evidence in your words or in the joke journalist's work you referred to support what you said.
Eby proved last night that Christina Clark couldn't even convince the burghers of Point Grey that she was worth them getting off their ass to vote for her.
If the election had been held while UBC was in session she would have been toast and, I think you, and she, know it.
G West
2 years ago
North of Hope
No offence intended to waitresses.
They're important parts of the workforce; in retrospect, I should have written that Clark is probably 'unqualified' to be one.
My apologies to you and the many hardworking waiters and waitresses in British Columbia - I hope you, as I do, always tip at least 20% to make up for the fact that they are often paid the minimum wage (which, even after Ms Clark has raised it, will still be far too little to live a decent life in this province.)
RickW
2 years ago
595 votes
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2011/05/11/bc-byelection-vancouver-point-grey-clark-eby.html
It appears Christy Crunch's ballot box stuffing got off to a late start.....
John Greg
2 years ago
Peru, you can count can't you?
Bobby Peru EDITED FOR PERSONAL INSULTS OF ANOTHER COMMENTER, said:
"But, that's history now since Clark won. If Eby truly is serious about being an MLA he should try a more sympathetic riding."
Yes, OK, she won and the riding is unsympathetic to the tune of approximately 600 votes. Wow! Landslide! Devestating! Much closer and a recount would have been called. By your ludicrous perspective the riding was almost as unsympathetic to Clark as it was to Eby.
Bobby Peru
2 years ago
Analyzing the victory
The rather narrow margin of victory could be the same sort of protest vote, temporary insanity in Quebec seems to have re-appeared in BC. There are lots people who still despise Gordon Campbell and they withheld their vote from Christy Clark as their quiet protest. But over the weeks they've seen that Quebec has been inflicted with haphazard and unqualified representation, they will return to their senses.
Eby should consider a new career as it was hardly a brutal campaign with any big debates, issues or competitors. He and the NDP threw everything they had against Clark in an effort to humiliate her. And they still lost. If he can't win against Christy, who could he win against ? Especially in a riding full of self-righteous, left of centre, university educated types.
Christy Clark actually won a tough fight in a riding which isn't quite as wealthy as most people perceive. While almost all homes in Point Grey are worth over a million, close examination shows they are not single family homes. Most have been renovated into duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes. Numerous renters of middle income are living in these homes especially in the Kits area. In the last election, the Liberals held 50% of the vote and the N.D.P. 40%. Considering the fact that Christy Clark ran in a bye election in which no governing candidate had been elected in 17 tries, Christy pulled off a big win.
In the provincial election the Liberals will make the economic agenda the central issue- just as Stephen Harper successfully did to gain a majority. Then the political issue will be whether or not British Columbians will take a chance with the most radical leader that the N.D.P. has ever run or stay the course with the Liberals that will push an economic growth policy based on family first. It is irrelevant which party made this their policy. Only the voters' perception matters.
And don't forget that when Glen Clark was in power, Dix- who was his advisor proposed that they implement a "Personal Net Worth Tax" on ALL B.C. Citizens. The implications are mind boggling. Adrian Dix is so far left he is a real threat to all of us if he held real power. In the upcoming election his real beliefs will be exposed.
G West
2 years ago
Hmm!
I've always thought British Columbians' idiotic voting behavior was a clear example of insanity because the fact that only 3 times in the past 80 odd years have the citizens of my province voted in their own best interests.
The thought it might be 'temporary' and that we could look forward to a future where people would actually express their electoral wishes in a less self-destructive and foolish way is a consoling notion.
I'd suggest that the narrow victory of an uneducated and inexperienced talk show host over a well-educated professional with real experience and an operative social conscience is something to be celebrated.
A future where more and more British Columbians begin to make sensible and intelligent choices about who they cast their votes for and what kind of a future they 'could' have is a sign that maybe people are recovering from their collective insanity.
Adrian Dix may 'threaten' you bobby - I assure you he doesn't 'threaten' the majority of British Columbians anywhere nearly as much as the Ms Christina does.
RickW
2 years ago
Bobby Peru
That makes Quebecers smart, Bobby. Just what are the criteria for MLA, MP, PM, Premier,Municipal Councilor, Mayor anyway? Care to drop a hint?
zalm
2 years ago
Snicker
EDITED FOR PERSONAL INSULTS -- MODERATOR
"If Eby truly is serious about being an MLA he should try a more sympathetic riding."
It looks like Christy wants to try a more sympatehtic riding! Let's kick Colin Hansen out of Quichena and try our hand there, shall we? The second-priciest postal code in Canada!
What on earth does Christy think she's doing?
And how do you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning?
zalm
2 years ago
Bobby rides again!
"Especially in a riding full of self-righteous, left of centre, university educated types. "
Nice to know what you really think of ordinary British Columbians, some of whom pay more tax to keep you medicated than Hamid Karzai spends on bribes in a month!
Gosh, I wish there was a "Suggest as ignorant" button. David?
Forive us if we ignore your advice on taxes - we know you haven't any viable suggestions since you'd rather continue taxing peoples' income instead of revamping the tax system to benefit everyone and taxing waste and pollution instead.