Panhandlers, and Petty Crime, and Squeegee Kids, Oh My!

BC Housing does not look to be making many friends in the Confederation Park area according to The Now. Eventually someone might speak up about BC Housing being the first step towards that homeless shelter that council seems to want to plant somewhere in the city.

It could be time for someone to bring a new voice to City Hall in next year's election. Last time the number two party ran on crime and did the best any challenger to the Burnaby Citizens' Association has done in a decade despite their election eve mayoral scandal. Could a new political force spring to life in response to the Downtown Eastside being gentrified and all its ills and troubles winding up elsewhere?

The winning ticket to 4949 Canada Way might just be handed to someone who campaigns on keeping Burnaby's homeless shelter off the South Slope, out of Edmonds, away from Hastings, nowhere near Lougheed, and well away from Metrotown and Brentwood. If the current council and their counterparts at other levels consider such a facility for Burnaby chances are a few people might have their baser instincts pop up at an untimely location - namely, the polling station.

Scooped by the Easterners

Langley Politics is reporting the Burnaby-New Westminster Conservatives are organizing a fundraiser next weekend with Langley MP Mark Warawa and Senator Gerry St. Germain.

With the announced dinner guests, it looks like Ryan Warawa may have the upper hand in at least one area over his nomination opponents Sam Rakhra and former candidate Marc Dalton.

Open for business

Billy "Third Time's a Charm" Cunningham has his campaign office ready to go. He just needs an election to fight against the NDP and Conservatives.

No word yet on whether the local Green Party candidate will be sharing office space in order to leave a small campaign footprint on the ecosystem of Burnaby-Douglas.

Dryden and the guy riding the bench

Billy Cunningham, star Liberal candidate from the 2004 election and current candidate in Burnaby-Douglas, is bringing NHL legend and former leadership candidate Ken Dryden to Burnaby tomorrow to make hay over childcare at a childcare centre near Metrotown.

Maybe the old goalie will teach Cunningham a thing or two about how to get elected or even inspire him to grow a playoff beard to make him look a bit older.

Worse than the Conservative

Steve McClurg looks like he will be crowned as the Liberal nominee in Burnaby-New Westminster whenever a meeting gets called (on short notice) for the riding. At the moment, McClurg has one significant problem, SteveMcClurg.ca, which lists him as a candidate for the nomination of his former party (NDP), in his former riding (New Westminster-Coquitlam), and in his previous campaign (2005 nomination). According to a WHOIS search, he owns the domain:

Description: a site to support Steve in his nomination run
Admin-Name: Steve McClurg

Might be time to update the site.

New beginnings

Given it's Easter Monday and Svend Robinson might possibly take a run at Burnaby North in the 2009 election, maybe some other past and president Burnaby politicians should try their hand at another level of government.

In a little over a month's time, Harry Bloy, Richard T. Lee, and John Nuraney hit the six-year as MLA mark. That is when the provincial government pension comes into effect. If there is no federal election do any of them take a run for the Liberals in Burnaby-New Westminster or Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam? These jurisdictions do not look friendly to the Liberals, however being a small fish in a big pond might be the change of scenery desired by a local small fish in a small pond. Instead, do they consider another stab at council or even a run for mayor?

Does Derek Corrigan prepare his run for MLA so that he can be the next NDP leader? If so, is Burnaby-Willingdon the only natural seat with Edmonds already NDP, Svend Robinson in North, and Burquitlam not entirely in Burnaby?

Do council members Gary Begin, Garth Evans, or Lee Rankin consider a run at Burnaby-Edmonds? Does almost council member Barb Spitz?

If Derek Corrigan makes a run for MLA, does Raj Chouhan step in to become the Burnaby Citizens' candidate and possibly the first Indo-Canadian mayor? Does New Westminster resident Peter Julian or Bill Siksay?

Or do none of these things happen and Julian and Siksay continue the struggle to get Bloy, Lee, and Nuraney to work for dredging Burnaby Lake while Evans continues to write letters about every issue in Burnaby instead of confronting the BCA council in person on Monday nights.

Discuss away as there are plenty of eggs to crack, or unfoil.

Falcon for breakfast

The clearly named Burnaby Business Breakfast is hosting Minister of Transportation Kevin Falcon a week this Friday, April 13, at the Earl's on Kingsway just west of Willingdon. It might be wise for Mayor Corrigan to buy a ticket and bring his questions directly to the Gateway minister.

Tiger in the Tank

MP Peter Julian is going to be raising the issue of oil and gas prices at the Kingsway at Willingdon Esso later this week where he will demand the federal government regulate prices. Gas prices in the Lower Mainland are high compared to elsewhere in Canada so this is an issue that should click with Burnaby's voters.

Next week Julian is going after environmental votes with his forum at Bonsor.

Early this week he was making hay with the World Police and Fire Games funding issue.

Peter Julian is everywhere. The federal campaign seems to be well underway in Burnaby-New Westminster, but could Julian also be sneaking out into the lead in the race to replace Jack Layton as party leader?