The new Maple Ridge (or even the new Surrey)?
Is Burnaby falling apart? In the last few days alone there have been incidents involving dognapping and a fake ransom note.
These unusual incidents are not the everyday happenings of Burnaby. Will these problems lead to someone trying to run for mayor yet again on a law and order agenda?
These unusual incidents are not the everyday happenings of Burnaby. Will these problems lead to someone trying to run for mayor yet again on a law and order agenda?
posted by Robert Burnaby at 5:59 PM
37 Comments:
Law and order are good issues in Burnaby.
But hopefully there will be someone who won't be found to be
holding a conviction for drunk driving.
No sense in getting into the spirits of dealing with crime issues that way.
My suggestion will be to seek someone that is youthful looking and is able to bring about changes needed for the city. I would say someone in the mold of Patty Sahota will be excellent to attract the business community while established in the local political landsacpe and able to unite anti-NDP faction in Bby. Who better to seek revenge on BCA?
However, T/B will have no chance gaining majority on the council if they decide to take on a token candidate again like Andrew Stewart in 05, and that will effectively end Lee Rankin's hope of gaining the mayoral seat when running against Dan Johnson. So Lee and Harry better think long and hard about this one,
"My suggestion will be to seek someone that is youthful looking and is able to bring about changes needed for the city. "
Not bad, but 'youth-ful' isn't
always a guarantee of political
success. Takes leadership, and someone who knows how to work with people, and a good management style.
"I would say someone in the mold of Patty Sahota will be excellent to attract the business community while established in the local political landsacpe and able to unite anti-NDP faction in Bby. Who better to seek revenge on BCA?"
Disagree. Patty Sahota is not mayoralty material, as she could not hold on to Bby Edmonds, and her riding association was torn apart a few years ago because a few geniuses did not follow simple steps in regards to an Annual General Meeting.
It's not a matter of 'revenge' on the BCA, but rather making Team Burnaby far more marketable to the voting populace (i.e. very good candidates, and a very well run organization that attracts the best volunteers, something that Team Burnaby is very much lacking right now).
"However, T/B will have no chance gaining majority on the council if they decide to take on a token candidate again like Andrew Stewart in 05, and that will effectively end Lee Rankin's hope of gaining the mayoral seat when running against Dan Johnson."
Who says Dan Johnson would be the BCA's candidate for Mayor? The BCA is not dumb. They wil - if needed select the candidate they know will continue on with the Mayor's chair. Johnson just doesn't do that.
Conversely, why specifically Lee Rankin exclusively for the mayoralty candidate for T/B and not someone else?
"So Lee and Harry better think long and hard about this one, "
As in Harry should think to stay out Team Burnaby and to take his stupidly thinking friends with him.
T/B is on its last leg. It has a disfunctioal board, a total lack of leadership from its elected members, multiple resignations among the directors and is still paying off its debts from two years ago. It will take a lot more than Patty Sahota for voters to take a second look at this crowd. Just why would HB want anything to do with them?
Why would anyone want anything to do with HB, since he and his friends started T/B in the first place, and insisted it be their way in how T/B is run.
T/B has been a disaster right from the start and should never have gone past the 2000 election in the first place.
Either that or those who ran T/B from 2002 to 2007 be told to take off and then let real volunteers take over to run a real civic party that actually means something more than a dump for
dented unrepairable written off campaign workers.
I'm not sure what the comments regarding HB are all about. It seems he was a founder of TEAM Burnaby. SO what! That it has failed to grow or thrive has much more to do with a host of other personalities. Spite, envy, very large legal bills and even larger campaign bills complete the picture.
Seeing T/B from a distance of five years, it is probable that it was formed as a vehicle to get Gary and Lee back on council. Add in Barb Spitz and a campaign team and you have a very strange brew. Is it any wonder that a few volunteers drop out along the way?
Will it be any different in the future? Don't bet on it. The BCA will snack on these guys time after time.
"I'm not sure what the comments regarding HB are all about. It seems he was a founder of TEAM Burnaby. SO what! "
Indeed, he and a few others founded TEAM, paradoxially because Harry could not get along with his BVA colleagues when he ran in a previous civic election and decided to "go it alone".
"That it has failed to grow or thrive has much more to do with a host of other personalities."
Not to mention some very stupid errors that were made by those who should know better who were paid to think in a campaign environment.
"Spite, envy, very large legal bills and even larger campaign bills complete the picture."
All of which did not have to happen.
"Seeing T/B from a distance of five years, it is probable that it was formed as a vehicle to get Gary and Lee back on council."
Team Burnaby actually goes back 10 years, but who's counting?
More to get Lee back on council rather than Gary, but niether needs T/B to do that. Lee ran as an independent and won a seat.
Gary could run as an independent and win the other seat.
"Add in Barb Spitz and a campaign team and you have a very strange brew. Is it any wonder that a few volunteers drop out along the way?"
The volunters did not drop off or stay away from T/B because of Barb Spitz. They stayed away simply because of a few others who obviously don't know the value of keeping good experienced volunteers around. Make a toxic environment for your volunteers and they will not stay long.
Whatwas left was friends being paid and a very complicated campaign structure that didn't need to exist.
"Will it be any different in the future? Don't bet on it. The BCA will snack on these guys time after time. "
Derek, pass the salt. Oh and the ketchup too. Nick? have a plate of Team Buraby right wings here. Want one?
*brrappphh* Excuse me. Man this food is rich. I'll be able to hibernate for weeks.
Yup! My man Nick said about five years ago that T/B was a collection of misfits who could not get along with anyone else. Looks like they don't much like it with each other either.
This next election is going to be even more fun that the last one.
There are multiple openings on the T/B board of directors. It might require a bit too much fundraising for some but what the heck. It looks like a perfect opportunity for a disrespected former volunteer to step up and be a hero. Uncle Sam want you!
"Uncle Sam want you!"
This is British Columbia, Canada
Not the District of Columbia, USA.
"Disagree. Patty Sahota is not mayoralty material, as she could not hold on to Bby Edmonds, and her riding association was torn apart a few years ago because a few geniuses did not follow simple steps in regards to an Annual General Meeting. "
Outside of Vancouver/Surrey, Raj Chouhan was the worst candidate a BC iberal incumbent could've faced in GVRD and that does not need futher explanation. True, even last minute appointment could not save her, but people who believe that she is unqualified because of that single loss should look to Peter Julian who went from losing a council race to becoming an MP.
Since Lee Rankin is not taking any chances as he probably cant take another election loss, the task of running against a "populist" mayor lies in the hands of the new breeds. Since tories tend to focus on federal races while liberals are more concerned with provincail races, HB's former colleague Patty Sahota should have no problem getting showed with endorsements from anyone who would love to see BCA go down before 09 provincial, and possibly including Gordon Campbell, and there is really no other way to gain a reputation than to take down a "popular" NDP mayor who won barely over 50% in his re-election race. And with the backing of likely all MLA's in the riding and T/B, she is about as good a candidate T/B can get as T/B councillors have not what it takes to unseat BCA majority.
"Who says Dan Johnson would be the BCA's candidate for Mayor?
Conversely, why specifically Lee Rankin exclusively for the mayoralty candidate for T/B and not someone else? "
At age 60, Carole James is not going to let Dan Johnson into her team, and he has not the time to wait for Peter Julian to go down. Given BCA's tradition of passing the torches, unless someone decides to snatch it away from Dan Johnson, 5 years away from now, he is going to walk over to the nomination with blessings.
As for Lee Rankin's ambition of running for mayor, I dont think it takes a blind person to see what he is up to. Putting together a team and nominating a token candidate against DC, so HB wants a T/B council majority to help him get elected while LR wants HB's backing to run against Dan Johnson in 2011 HB get's reelected in 2009. If both are serious about taking down BCA/NDP in Burnaby as it is critical to both of their political prospects, the next nomination meeting for T/B is going to see some far more impressive candidates nominated than BCA candidates most likely handpicked by DC.
"Outside of Vancouver/Surrey, Raj Chouhan was the worst candidate a BC iberal incumbent could've faced in GVRD and that does not need futher explanation. "
True, but Sahota had the benifit of being an incumbent within a government that didn't have much trouble in getting re-elected, so she should have been able to be re-elected as an MLA, but didn't.
Incumbents have been re-elected by overcoming stronger opposition than Chouhan.
"True, even last minute appointment could not save her, but people who believe that she is unqualified because of that single loss should look to Peter Julian who went from losing a council race to becoming an MP. "
Slightly different environment as
Julian had the benfit of a solid organization from the NDP. The guy as a political individual is weak, but has the benifit of a very strong support base.
"Since Lee Rankin is not taking any chances as he probably cant take another election loss,"
Last time one looked, Rankin had his council seat.
"Since tories tend to focus on federal races while liberals are more concerned with provincail races,"
Liberals and Tories are both concerned with federal and provincial, but at the provincial level, Tories and Liberals will
work the same campaign, but not federal resources.
"HB's former colleague Patty Sahota should have no problem getting showed with endorsements from anyone who would love to see BCA go down before 09 provincial,
"and possibly including Gordon Campbell, "
That's not going to happen.
"and there is really no other way to gain a reputation than to take down a "popular" NDP mayor who won barely over 50% in his re-election race. "
Indeed there is, if the candidate has the more valuable awareness of
doing things for the local citizens and being involved in the local community as opposed to riding on provincial level politician endorsements.
"And with the backing of likely all MLA's in the riding and T/B, she is about as good a candidate T/B can get as T/B councillors have not what it takes to unseat BCA majority. "
Sahota doesn't have what it takes, since she's been out of circulation since 2005, and hasn't done much in the community since then to raise her profile.
Endorsements from three of the four Burnaby riding MLA's simply isn't going to do it. She certainly isn't going to get any positive feedback from Raj Chouhan.
"Who says Dan Johnson would be the BCA's candidate for Mayor?
Conversely, why specifically Lee Rankin exclusively for the mayoralty candidate for T/B and not someone else? "
"At age 60, Carole James is not going to let Dan Johnson into her team, and he has not the time to wait for Peter Julian to go down."
"Given BCA's tradition of passing the torches, unless someone decides to snatch it away from Dan Johnson, 5 years away from now, he is going to walk over to the nomination with blessings."
Not nessesarily. Johnson isn't leadership and the BCA will only
get someone they know is the best
choice for passing the torch.
"As for Lee Rankin's ambition of running for mayor, I dont think it takes a blind person to see what he is up to."
True, that plan has been in the works for quite sometime, and goes back to around c. 2001.
"Putting together a team and nominating a token candidate against DC, so HB wants a T/B council majority to help him get elected"
T/B should not exist to get any MLA elected. The fact that a Burnaby council majority would help get HB re-elected is false.
"while LR wants HB's backing to run against Dan Johnson in 2011 HB get's reelected in 2009."
A little convulted predication there.
"If both are serious about taking down BCA/NDP in Burnaby as it is critical to both of their political prospects, the next nomination meeting for T/B is going to see some far more impressive candidates nominated than BCA candidates most likely handpicked by DC."
All the reason for HB to stay out of T/B and let the membership decide for themselves who would be best, rather than HB continuing on thinking that T/B is his as a vehicle for his re-election.
That's not why T/B should exist, and is the reason (HB's and HB's supporter's continued interference)
why T/B isn't going anywhere and never did become the alternative that it was originally meant to be.
One can figure it might be better for some of the better candidates to go it as independents, seeking the dormant exceptional volunteer talent out there that would help in a win, rather than volunteering in something that is manipulated by an MLA should be focusing on his provincial riding and not civic politics.
Patty Sahota for Mayor. Good choice. Barb Spitz for council. Great choice.
Ms. Plante and the rest of the "dormant exceptional volunteer talent" to run the campaign. 2008 is going to be a great year.
Patty Sahota for Mayor. Good choice.
Why? Patty hasn't done anything to earn the seat.
Would not vote for her, since an experienced hand on council for Mayor would be alot better than someone seeking political opportunity.
More than likely, she'll end up
as a safeguard for Harry Bloy or some other Liberal MLA and that's not why people should elect candidates.
Barb Spitz for council. Great choice.
Barb has done alot for the community and would certainly place her ahead of Patty Sahota in terms of consideration as to whom to vote for.
Ms. Plante and the rest of the "dormant exceptional volunteer talent" to run the campaign. 2008 is going to be a great year.
Marnie Plant failed twice in a win within Burnaby political civic campaigns, and several times in federal Liberal politics.
She's also not a volunteer, as she was paid both times, a bit too much.
She's also federal Liberal. Let's
get someone from the Conservative side for a nice change.
I'd go with in-city talent as they know the political landscape better than an outsider who walks in knowing a paycheque is coming in four weeks.
But granted given a choice she would be better than the junk that ran the last two T/B campaigns.
"Slightly different environment as
Julian had the benfit of a solid organization from the NDP. The guy as a political individual is weak, but has the benefit of a very strong support base."
And Patty Sahota does not have a solid organization from BCL? If anything, Patty Sahota now has a greater profile than when Peter Julian was running for his first term with very strong support base from T/B and BCL, not to mention she wont be confined to a strong NDP provincial riding.
Running against Peter Julian at the present is just not winnable for liberals alike at the present moment, and if she does decide to start labeling herself as a liberal in the federal race, she can forget about beating Raj Chouhan in the provincial race.
Since she is more popular than any of the sitting city councilors, it is predicted if she does run, the sitting Mayor will not gain as many as 52% of the votes as he did in 2005, and with anti-NDP faction deciding to unite behind a former BCL MLA, the likelihood of her getting elected will too exceed 52%.
True, getting all three MLA's support in the riding may seem obsolete against double federal MP endorsements, but with anti-NDP votes starting to consolidate behind even a token candidate in 2005, the uprising force against NDP will become more dominant as time goes on, and there is no better time to challenge DC than 2008.
As for the unification of tories and liberals in BBY, the battle line in N-BBY has already been drawn and the MLA's will stay out of the match up but will endorse the most winnable candidate of the two parites to unseat a vulnerable incumbent. But in S-BBY, tory nomination battle is gaining popularity as liberals are scrambling to find a sacrificial lamb, but I see the possibility of cooperation between the two happening. If John Nuraney, Patty Sahota and Lee Rankin & Co decide to stay out of federal race and let the federal liberal cnadidate run dry, the tories will gladly back Patty Sahota as the mayor and any federal BCL candidate against Raj Chouhan. It does not help anyone if Patty Sahota decides to come out against tories in a federal race that is going to NDP anyway and let the governing tories take the risk.
"That's not why T/B should exist, and is the reason (HB's and HB's supporter's continued interference)
why T/B isn't going anywhere and never did become the alternative that it was originally meant to be.
Liberals and Tories are both concerned with federal and provincial, but at the provincial level, Tories and Liberals will
work the same campaign, but not federal resources."
T/B exists because like what BCL has done so successfully provincially taking NDP out one by one. LR has no chance gaining tory support, and by collaborating with HB, you see that liberals and tories running together under the same banner as LR recruited the liberals while HB did with the tories. While voters continued to pick liberals over tories in the local race, the trend of uniting NDP force is becoming more apparent.
What TB now needs to do is to ensure that such an alliance will hold all the way to the end of BC 2009 so to keep NDP out of running. If HB can convince PS to run for mayor, he will automatically score endorsements from Richard Lee and John Nuraney creating a solid anti-NDP front with a council team likely consisting of largely liberals with marginal space for tories. If HB wants retain tories in this alliance, then he better make sure that neither PS or other local prospects will interfere with the federal races. Once both sides are at peace with each other before 2008, I would say Derek Corrigan will have more than what he can handle with even with help from above.
"And Patty Sahota does not have a solid organization from BCL? If anything, Patty Sahota now has a greater profile than when Peter Julian was running for his first term with very strong support base from T/B and BCL, not to mention she wont be confined to a strong NDP provincial riding."
She obviously doesn't have much beyond the BCL and her riding association was torn apart a few years ago. She's not prominent in the local community.
"Running against Peter Julian at the present is just not winnable for liberals alike at the present moment, and if she does decide to start labeling herself as a liberal in the federal race, she can forget about beating Raj Chouhan in the provincial race. "
She's already a Liberal.
"Since she is more popular than any of the sitting city councilors, "
A bit odd there since she hasn't been visible in the local media.
She may be popular within the local BCL, but the local BCL in two ridings has much to be desired.
"it is predicted if she does run, the sitting Mayor will not gain as many as 52% of the votes as he did in 2005, and with anti-NDP faction deciding to unite behind a former BCL MLA, the likelihood of her getting elected will too exceed 52%. "
That is assuming that she wins the
nomination, which isn't guaranteed.
Perosnally I would not support her over some locals who have earned the means to seek the mayoralty nomination. It would look like someone or a few people are trying to find her a political home.
"True, getting all three MLA's support in the riding may seem obsolete against double federal MP endorsements, but with anti-NDP votes starting to consolidate behind even a token candidate in 2005, the uprising force against NDP will become more dominant as time goes on, and there is no better time to challenge DC than 2008."
The best time to challenge DC was
actually in 2005. But true to form T/B blew the opportunity.
"As for the unification of tories and liberals in BBY, the battle line in N-BBY has already been drawn and the MLA's will stay out of the match up but will endorse the most winnable candidate of the two parites to unseat a vulnerable incumbent. But in S-BBY, tory nomination battle is gaining popularity as liberals are scrambling to find a sacrificial lamb, but I see the possibility of cooperation between the two happening. If John Nuraney, Patty Sahota and Lee Rankin & Co decide to stay out of federal race and let the federal liberal cnadidate run dry, the tories will gladly back Patty Sahota as the mayor and any federal BCL candidate against Raj Chouhan.
Not nessesarily. The smart thinking tories will think more of someone who has actually done things for the community.
"It does not help anyone if Patty Sahota decides to come out against tories in a federal race that is going to NDP anyway and let the governing tories take the risk. "
Seems that somoneone wants to give Patty Sahota a home.
Liberals and Tories are both concerned with federal and provincial,
Tories focus on federal. Few are participating at the provincial level.
T/B exists because like what BCL has done so successfully provincially taking NDP out one by one.
T/B exists simply because of a few
power hungry people. Has nothing to do with the BCL.
LR has no chance gaining tory support, and by collaborating with HB, you see that liberals and tories running together under the same banner as LR recruited the liberals while HB did with the tories.
HB has no instance of recruiting
tories in Burnaby. As for LR he can and does receive Tory support.
His numbers tell the story.
"While voters continued to pick liberals over tories in the local race, the trend of uniting NDP force is becoming more apparent. "
If it's done smartly.
What TB now needs to do is to ensure that such an alliance will hold all the way to the end of BC 2009 so to keep NDP out of running.
That won't happen.
If HB can convince PS to run for mayor, he will automatically score endorsements from Richard Lee and John Nuraney creating a solid anti-NDP front with a council team likely consisting of largely liberals with marginal space for tories.
HB should stay out of civic politics. It's that kind of action which really turns off people, esp. those who want to effect change in civic government to reflect good management rather than political positioning of so-called favorites as is the proposal here with Sahota.
I'd pick someone who has done alot for Burnaby over another who hasn't much more than endorsement from MLA's.
Sahota would not make a good Mayor simply because she hasn't done much community work that people can see, and for good Mayor hopefuls, a term or two on council
is best before moving up.
Being an MLA does not qualify one to run for Mayor.
If HB or any of the other MLA's interfere with the nomination process it will backfire on them.
There was backroom manipulation of the nomination in T/B last time and that nonsense has to end.
Sahota has run on her own without
help or a hand up from others, otherwise she will end up being
a good looking puppet to HB and other local MLA's, which will not be good for Burnaby.
If HB wants retain tories in this alliance, then he better make sure that neither PS or other local prospects will interfere with the federal races.
If HB wants to retain tories, he best stay out.
Once both sides are at peace with each other before 2008, I would say Derek Corrigan will have more than what he can handle with even with help from above.
If HB stays out and t/B gets smart and attracts talent (both candidate and volunteer) then you'll have something.
But wouldn't wait for the bus on that one.
What's with this playing favourites for Patty Sahota??
and why is there some movement or support for Harry Bloy to continue his activities within Team Burnaby??
Are they both Gods or something?
Gawd, people get a grip and think about the city rather than hoping to find a political home for a one term MLA and to ensure that the other MLA continues his activities.
Team Burnaby does not belong to Harry Bloy and what exactly has Patty Sahota done to gurantee a nomination win?
Cut the political manipulative crap and build a robust postive civic party that people will want to vote for.
Neither Bloy or Sahota will gurantee success in the next civic election.
What will are candidates that the voting people want, policies that the citizens want, and a good fun campaign that the volunteers want.
This political manipulation is just crap and doesn't help a party's fortunes.
Team Burnaby had alot of that before and the result was what you have right now, a junk party that
few people really care about.
"That is assuming that she wins the
nomination, which isn't guaranteed.
Perosnally I would not support her over some locals who have earned the means to seek the mayoralty nomination. It would look like someone or a few people are trying to find her a political home."
Was 2005 the best time to challenge DC? BCNDP were 3000 votes away from sweeping Burnaby defeating a Campbell's "favourite puppet" minister, not to mention the super-majority DC had on city council and they were only able to achieve 52%, all this occurred while NDP MP's were out in full force campaigning for federal race a month away, tell me again how T/B had failed? T/B even gained seats on DC.
Let us not do double standards here, Christy Clark had a close contest against Sam Sullivan, and Joyce Murray was practically acclaimed in a riding that she decided to buy a house before running for an MP seat. Let us not even talk about many of the failed BCNDP candidates in Burnaby. Do voters really care how much garbage DC picked up over the past three years? The answer is no and there are many instances of that which I am sure you are familiar with already. The voters care what they can do for BBY in the future, not what they have done in the past. If PJ sincerely wants to get involved, she has plenty of time to do so since the nomination race is still another year away. With her connections established in Burnaby, she could get into it if she decides to do so. And when she does get involved, DC is going to have a lot more to handle than LR and HB.
We can all agree that Burnaby needs someone new to take charge of the city, tell me any other Under 40 candidate more capable than Patty Sahota. Not only has she the organization to help propel her up there given that she was a Campbell aid and involved with federal liberals, she can also help venture into the business community that tends to stay away from municipal races. And if enough MLA's are willing to back her to make her seemingly winnable, the tories too will start to shift and taking out a mayor that barely achieved 50% in 2005 will not become as difficult as many may first thought.
Some complain constantly how PS getting elected would make her appear like a puppet mayor. Well, I wonder how people would take DC for given that he pretty runs BCA under an autonomy while heavily involved in the federal races. I say to them stop being double standard and be unbiased just for once. The three MLA's were close to being defeated in 2005, and it is apparent that none of them has what it takes to be a puppet master.
"Sahota has run on her own without
help or a hand up from others, otherwise she will end up being
a good looking puppet to HB and other local MLA's, which will not be good for Burnaby.
If HB stays out and t/B gets smart and attracts talent (both candidate and volunteer) then you'll have something."
People always say how T/B was a disaster in 2005 with HB being involved, does that mean had HB not gotten involved, T/B would have taken out the 52% mayor and take the council majority? But that was not the consensus then as all have expected BCA retaining majority. HB simply acted as the bridge that brought liberals and tories together.
Trust me, HB has already started positioning himself long before 2008 and is close to have taken care of Coquitlam. And T/B/LR & Co are wasting no time to find someone to run against DC because the premise of the party establishment was based on the purpose of uniting tories and liberals, and they certainly cant do that if both side scannot reach a consensus before the federal election. NO one is certainly waiting on the bus for the "One" to appear.
"What's with this playing favourites for Patty Sahota??
and why is there some movement or support for Harry Bloy to continue his activities within Team.
Team Burnaby does not belong to Harry Bloy and what exactly has Patty Sahota done to gurantee a nomination win?"
This so suggested "junk party few people care about" is a party that DC only obtained 52% against, I wonder what you would call DC when he does get defeated. Certainly you would like to see someone like Mr. Democracy winning the nomination for T/B after claiming his involvement with community affairs and his loyalty to the people and their democracy.
One however has to wonder what voters want to see in a mayor? Mayor Bloomberg changed party to run for NY mayor coming out of virtually nowhere, people too questioned his ability to govern and his addiction with political oppurtunism but he proved them wrong. Many one term US Senators or CDN MP went back home to become Governors or mayors. But against most voters unless partisan do not care where their candidates came form, but rather where the candidates can lead them to in the future. That is why a former cabinet minister like PS will become an instant star mayoral candidate if she does announce her intention to unseat DC and there is nothing worse for NDP/BCA than an election that is highly profiled. People can question her youthfulness but most will prefer her to bring changes to BBY, many too will question her ability to govern but she will be able to quote her debates against Sav Dhaliwal in her 2001 election.
PS will certainly take the name "favourite" by heart like some has suggested. It will be especially sweet for all three BCL MLAs if PS does get elected 6 months before their re-election begin and taking out someone like DC will simply take the air out of BCNDP. Tell me a reason why HB should NOT convince PS to take the bid to become mayor. Certainly T/B can waste an election away, but if LR really wants to become the mayor, then he should remind PS that running against Peter Julian will be always be easier if she is indeed the out-going mayor. Rather referring that as political dealing, just think of it as another reason why the most adamant T/B supporter would want her to be the mayor, even for just one term.
then T/B which really has no grass-root base will start seeing PS and LR's supporters coming together under T/B. And with both of them likely removed from the federal race, HB's endorsement will also retain the tory anti-NDP base.
Seems to be that HB has supposedly the magic formula in the minds of a few people.
The truth is, he does not.
But this is an example of what should not happen. HB is essentially taking on Coquitlam for his own gain rather than to the benifit of the populace.
He's the MLA of one part of Coquitlam, not the Lord of Coquitlam as he wants to be.
HB has been involved with T/B since 1993 and T/B hasn't really gained anything, except to be the spoiler in one election, and a disasterous result in 2005. Percentages don't mean much unless there is a win. Disasterous is reference to stupid mistakes made in the course of the nomination and the actions of the campaign as a whole. (Witness the excessive
debt and legal bills still faced by T/B, both of which should not have happened in the first place).
I would not support anyone who supports HB's incessant interference in civic party affairs, since it is more to do with his own power and influence rather than anything new and positive for the civic party.
In simple terms, the provincial LIbealr MLAs should stay away from the civic arena and let those who know Burnaby civic politics best run the show.
having the MLA's part of the equation simply will not guarantee a win for T/B. Anyone who thinks that is fooling themselves.
Build a civic party by Burnaby people for Burnaby people and stock it with sound policy and membership and with candidates that can be sold to the
voters, not sold to HB or anyone else who figures they have a say in how the affairs are run.
Whether they are provincial Liberals, federal Conservatives or federal Liberals does not matter at the civic level.
What I see here is not much more than the staging of a power play to put Patty Sahota in, who really does not have much tangible political assets to offer the voting public over let's say someone else who has worked the community in Burnaby or council who would be better suited for the candidate's spot.
If the power plays continue, T/B will not change.
Who wants to be a part of a civic party where the power plays are done by backroom boys led by an MLA who wants power and influence?
If the membership does not have a say in how the party is run, why bother being a part of it? If the
volunteers don't have a fun and contributory enviroment, why bother wasting time in the campaign?
T/B has been down that road three times and it has to end.
This time it's the same MLA but with new groups of his supporters wanting to ensure that what he wants is put into place.
In other words, same trough, different pigs.
Who needs it?
The best outcome is to vote for those candidates who will do the best for Burnaby, but not the best for a power hungry MLA.
I always get a kick out of reading political musings from arm chair pundits.
Unseating Derek Corrigan as Mayor in the next civic election won't be too difficult, seeing as how he will most likely be running as an NDP candidate in the next provincial election. That is if he doesn't expire first from either lung cancer or cirrhosis of the liver. The man smokes like a chimney and drinks like a fish.
Also don't rule out a husband/wife campaign team up, as even money has his wife running for another Burnaby riding in the next provincial election.
As for a mayoral candidate being convicted of a DUI, Derek has taken care of that little matter by making sure that he always has a chauffeured ride home after a night out drinking with his NDP buddies at his favorite Irish pub.
As for Team Burnaby's performance in the last election, they came within 3 votes from beating BCA for the 8th council seat, and that was only after a manual hand recount of the ballots. The first machine recount still had Barb Spitz by 3 votes. The BCA/NDP funded lawyers didn't like the results of the machine recount, and took the whole matter to a judge to request the manual recount.
So if all of the naysayers out there have put their money on the BCA to retain the majority on Burnaby City Council in the next election, my advice is don't bet more than you can afford to lose.
"I always get a kick out of reading political musings from arm chair pundits."
Welcome to the Asylum.
"Unseating Derek Corrigan as Mayor in the next civic election won't be too difficult, seeing as how he will most likely be running as an NDP candidate in the next provincial election. "
Only if he sees the NDP headed towards a majority government as Derek would not want to sit in Opposition since he wouldn't be able to do much of anything except talk (which is what he is good at).
He would want to be a government side MLA to get things done.
"That is if he doesn't expire first from either lung cancer or cirrhosis of the liver. The man smokes like a chimney and drinks like a fish. "
Isn't that smokes like an old car and drinks like a fish?
"Also don't rule out a husband/wife campaign team up, as even money has his wife running for another Burnaby riding in the next provincial election."
The only riding Kathy Corrigan could run in is Burnby North, since Derek would want Burnaby Willingdon. Burnaby Edmonds is out,
and it would be foolish for either to try Burquitlam which needs a better NDP candidate than the one that has run the last two times.
"As for a mayoral candidate being convicted of a DUI, Derek has taken care of that little matter by making sure that he always has a chauffeured ride home after a night out drinking with his NDP buddies at his favorite Irish pub."
Smart thing to do. Too bad Stewart didn't think of that.
"As for Team Burnaby's performance in the last election, they came within 3 votes from beating BCA for the 8th council seat, and that was only after a manual hand recount of the ballots."
That was 2005. The results in the 2001 and 1999 elections were a bit further out.
"The first machine recount still had Barb Spitz by 3 votes. The BCA/NDP funded lawyers didn't like the results of the machine recount, and took the whole matter to a judge to request the manual recount."
Proper procedure, and a bit of anomonly since those tight outcomes do not occur in every election. Then one has to wonder if Barb Spitz got those results because of who she is, rather than
T/B. If Barb had run as an independent with a good campaign team working for her directly, she would have made it past + 40 votes and would be on council.
T/B's advertising campaign was substandard.
"So if all of the naysayers out there have put their money on the BCA to retain the majority on Burnaby City Council in the next election, my advice is don't bet more than you can afford to lose."
I'd say don't get overconfident since political climates change.
A win by T/B esp. with the current state it is in, and with the continued interference by those who should stay out (T/B is not "Team Bloy"), T/B doesn't have much to offer the voter.
But if T/B comes out as a good robust civic party that people want to be a part of, and that the citizens want to vote for, then there will be something.
Let's summarize the excerise:
1. A few want Patty Sahota, an under 40 provincial Liberal and federal Liberal and puppet of Harry Bloy to run for the Mayor's chair for Team Burnaby, but there
are others who may be better suited to do so.
The attraction is "under 40", and
someone who obviously has strong links to Mr. Bloy.
Age does not really matter in this day, since there are those who are younger than 40 that bombed in politics and those who are over 40 that bombed in politics.
2. Team Burnaby is still Team Bloy
with many Bloy supporting Liberals who want to see Patty Sahota run for Mayor, as does MLA Bloy and Bloy and his supporters still want T/B to be his.
Bloy is wanting to have power and influence beyond doing the job of being a good MLA.
There isn't any real tangible reason to justify that situation since there's minimal benifit to it.
3. Team Burnaby is still in disarry with large debts and bills
which need to be retired before Spring 2008.
A few T/B supporters fail to see the implications and indications that both Directors and experienced volunteers have left T/B. Lose your volunteers and it's
hard to get them back.
4. A few cite Christy Clark and
Joyce Murry, but fail to see the obvious political opportunism in
both (Christy moved to Vancouver to see the Mayor's Nomination for NPA, and simply failed to do so, as
many saw right through her opportunistic goals. Joyce Murray bought a house simple to "be in the riding", and it will be interestng to see if she makes it through the Quadra election which isn't guaranteed. Again, it is opportunism, since she is seeking a 'safe seat' and not wanting to contest where she had lived for decades.
5. Some mistakenly believe local
MLA endorsements will win over voters.
6. The BCA is a subset of the BC NDP and has been since the mid 1980's, since membership in the BC NDP is compulsory for membership in the BCA. There's no equivalent for the conservative/liberal side of the equation and there shouldn't be.
7. Lee Rankin would be a better choice for Mayor Nomination than would Patty Sahota, since Lee has experience on Council, but a few fail to see the benifits of a wide open nomination race, preferring to have a pre-set nonimee (Patty Sahota) instead. This leads to
carelessness and dilutes the value of membership, since the membership as a whole should decide
who the nominees will be. "hand picked" candidates are never a good idea in politics. If Sahota
wants to run, fine, but she should be on her own and not be a "preferred candidate" or "hand picked one". Nominations are a test
for the candidate. She should not
get any preferred resources or treatments that are not available to any other person in contesting a nomination.
9. Other community leaders in
Burnaby could take a shot at the T/B Nomination for Mayor but have not been considered by those who want a one time MLA whose term
ended two years ago instead. These
community leaders would most likely appeal to the wider populace than one picked by internal politics, since they have worked in Burnaby, and a few are very well known to the city.
11. Should Sahota be 'hand picked'
or win the nomination, the BCA will be able to see the direct link to her and the BC Liberals and will most likely use that to the deteriment of additional T/B candidates on council.
12. Sahota has no experience on council and did not complete much of prominence in Burnaby when she was MLA. She failed to retain a good constituency association.
13. Team Burnaby needs to relieve
itself of being a party of an MLA
and develop itself into a robust
civic party independent of any
interest or instrusion from MLA's
and federal or provincial parties.
Volunteers and members from provincial and federal parties would be most welcome to join, but the federal and provincial affilations and baggage should be left at the door.
Team Burnaby needs to be party that belongs to the membership as a whole, not to a chosen few or to those who are supportive of Harry.
In summary, Team Burnaby should go in a much different and improved direction than what is proposed here, otherwise Team Burnaby will stagnate and for some, running as independents could prove to be a
better alterative.
A win for Team Burnaby is far from guaranteed given it's current state.
In order to achieve that Team Burnaby must be run differently and
be viewed in a far more positive aspect than it currently is.
"Cut the political manipulative crap and build a robust postive civic party that people will want to vote for.
Neither Bloy or Sahota will gurantee success in the next civic election."
Let me get this straight... Bloy and Sahota are being touted as political geniuses by various posters on this board?
Can someone tell me the last time a conservative party won power in Burnaby? If I don't miss my guess, its been now 20 years (this fall) that BCA has held power in Burnaby.
And look at Burnaby today, compared to Burnaby 20 years ago. Next to Surrey (thanks to some porkbarelling from Rita Johnston) it has grown in size and stature like no city in BC.
And that's under a socially progressive civic government. The guys talking about Team Burnaby, Harry Bloy and Patty Sahota, are in all reality, shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. BCA has a record of electoral success that anyone would find hard to overcome.
Add Bloy and Sahota to that mix, particularly the former Minister of State for Golf Courses and Casinos, a true political flyweight if there ever was one, and Bloy, who's only in because of an ineffective opposition to him in Burquitlam, and who in multiple terms has received nothing from Campbell, and well... it doesn't exactly scream electoral success for the United Right in 08 Burnaby elections.
Neither Bloy or Sahota will gurantee success in the next civic election."
"Let me get this straight... Bloy and Sahota are being touted as political geniuses by various posters on this board?"
Yep. Unbelieveable, but very much
true. Wouldn't surprise me though,
since Harry wants his own people
in Team Burnaby so he can continue control. T/B has been "Team Bloy"
since its beginnings.
Can someone tell me the last time a conservative party won power in Burnaby? If I don't miss my guess, its been now 20 years (this fall) that BCA has held power in Burnaby.
Last time a quasi-conservative-liberal group held civic power in Burnaby was c. 1989, but the BVA kept their distance federally and the federal parties kept their distance at the civic level. The provincial party (Social Credit) kept its distance at the civic level as the BVA was a balance of provincial Socreds and provincial Liberals at the time, from what I read.
"And look at Burnaby today, compared to Burnaby 20 years ago. Next to Surrey (thanks to some porkbarelling from Rita Johnston) it has grown in size and stature like no city in BC."
Much of that goes back to Bill
Bennett and some forward thinking
people in the 1980's.
But some decisions made by previous
BCA mayors and Burnaby Council as a whole adds to that.
"And that's under a socially progressive civic government. The guys talking about Team Burnaby, Harry Bloy and Patty Sahota, are in all reality, shuffling the deck chairs on the Titanic. BCA has a record of electoral success that anyone would find hard to overcome."
Very true. But it's more personalities than political party related matters.
There are those who wrongly figure a civic party foundation means success at the provincial and federal level. Others figure wrongly that the Liberal MLA's should put their hand in.
It's a bad move by those who are blindly loyal to one provincial party.
"Add Bloy and Sahota to that mix, particularly the former Minister of State for Golf Courses and Casinos, a true political flyweight if there ever was one, and Bloy, who's only in because of an ineffective opposition to him in Burquitlam, and who in multiple terms has received nothing from Campbell, and well... it doesn't exactly scream electoral success for the United Right in 08 Burnaby elections.
Very true. Many on the United Right don't know and those who do know, don't care about Harry. In fact some wish Harry would put a stop to his interference and let Team Burnaby be its own.
Harry hasn't delivered any huge
success to Burquitlam and hasn't exactly moved up to Ministerial
level.
Figure that the Minister of State for Resorts and Golf Courses advanced from being an MLA in an NDP area, while Harry never moved.
What does that tell you? Quite a bit. Harry is Deputy Chair, two steps down from Speaker, but that is in-legislature stuff and few public voters would ever gain anything positive from it.
Meanwhile a Burnaby MLA becomes a
Minister of State, getting that as a political goodie and burns a campaign for re-election as an incumbent because of stagnant levels of support overcome by a previously obscure NDPer who took the seat.
What does that tell a person? Quite a bit.
The BCA will have alot of fun if Sahota wins a T/B Nomination, and it will be fun to watch them snack on T/B for the third time in a row.
Sahota's record is dismal politically since she's been the receipient of political goodies and
now seems to be the 'favourite' of the powers to be in team Burnaby.
If that's the case why bother helping or voting for Team Burnaby at all.
Better to support individuals who can and do make a real difference and who have earned the rewards of a council or mayoralty seat.
Balance off a few BCA people and a few of the others to get a mix of
good people who will actually do something for the community rather than for one particular provincial party or MLA.
For those who are opposed to HB getting involved in municipal politics, barring those NDPer's who are constantly speaking the language of double standards as several of their members jump from MLA to council races while some of their MP's just cant keep their hands off BC, I would say let us look at he has achieved in 2005 and what kind of prospects he may have in 2008.
"The BCA is a subset of the BC NDP and has been since the mid 1980's, since membership in the BC NDP is compulsory for membership in the BCA. There's no equivalent for the conservative/liberal side of the equation and there shouldn't be."
Is there anyone that honestly believes that BCL will have no hands in an election that if lost will give their nemesis BCNDP what they need to wipe out BCL from BBY as they almost did in BC 2005? Will there be a tory/liberal side of the equation one asks. I would reiterate this question this way, is there anyone farsighted enough to pull both sides together to form an alliance that can take the air out of BCNDP and BCA after seeing an NDP mayor for over 20 years. HB did and will he benefit from his "mistake" of lending out a hand to his T/B candidates? I guess it wont be long before we know.
But did HB fail T/B in 2005? Not only did TB mayoral candidate obtain more votes than DC did in 2002, they for the first time in years were less than 10 votes away from making DC requiring unanimous BCA support on all council votes, and most importantly HB was able to convince LR, a former BCA member no less to join the effort to unseat DC. Unlike few here, (NDP or otherwise), it is recognized so far as a step towards uprooting the NDP support from inside out, especially given that NDP never exceeded 50% in provincial elections or even close to that federally.
"Build a civic party by Burnaby people for Burnaby people and stock it with sound policy and membership and with candidates that can be sold to the voters, not sold to HB or anyone else who figures they have a say in how the affairs are run."
I too would agree with that wholeheartedly. Like in all democratic societies, no nomination should be appointed by anyone, and TB mayoral candidate will likely face a vote unless proven to be a consensus choice between tories and liberals.
Some have claimed that independence should become the corner stone of T/B in the next election. T/B as much independent as BCL? Is BCL indepedent from tories or liberals? Of course it is because federal and provincial political affairs rarely overlap, and while some BCL MLA's have decided to endorse candidate, the party never publicly endorsed any federal parties.
True, we will see the hands of BCL insiders in the upcoming election, but we will see that the common interest of unseating NDP incumbents on all levels of government will start to bring them together, "independently" involved in all levels of elections.
So since T/B is established on the premise of defeating NDP forces embedded in the city, what sort of people should T/B be looking for to defeat DC?
1. Must be marketable as an fresh alternative to the NDP establishment.
DC is certainly not looking someone who can bring freshness to the city and the entire slate of BCA is close to pension age. Is Under 40 a good trait to have? Most definitely, especially when one realizes how famous it has made Alan Lowe in Victoria. Is being an MLA another good trait to have? That cannot be more true, with many of the defeated MLA's receiving high number of votes in municipal votes, against a 52% mayor who was elected based on his membership with NDP, this sort of acknowledgment is more than enough for those who would like to have someone "new" and "familiar" replace him.
2. Must be able to garner large support base and campaign funds.
TB needs to find a candidate that can unite the anti-NDP factions in BBY. Thus it is crucial for the candidate to receive backing from BCL members who can certainly testify their credibility in uniting the "Right"/anti-NDP. It will certainly be most convenient if all three MLA's can come out in support of TB's mayoral candidate, especially one that can help each of them safe cruise to another term in Victoria. Thus it cannot be stressed enough for the candidate to have the appeals to the business community and past acquaintances with various grass-root organizations.
3. Be sincerely involved with community affairs.
No one picked by T/B members will have an easy ride against NDP who will constantly claim their background in working with the people of the Burnaby. But given NDP being the establishment in the community, it is rare for anyone to have the courage to run against DC in the riding. It is the same reason you will not see any local community leaders running against Libby Davies or Joyce Murray in the respective ridings. In order to find someone who can credibly be opposed to BCA policies, the candidate must be able to recite the local issues by heart and be experienced in iterating their party platform while explaining why NDP/BCA policies have not been working for the past years.
Will T/B have a perfect candidate? The answer is that no candidate is perfect, but the best candidate will be the one that can most definitely defeat DC and achieve the object that the party was set out to do when merged with BVA.
"
Add Bloy and Sahota to that mix, particularly the former Minister of State for Golf Courses and Casinos, a true political flyweight if there ever was one, and Bloy, who's only in because of an ineffective opposition to him in Burquitlam, and who in multiple terms has received nothing from Campbell, and well... it doesn't exactly scream electoral success for the United Right in 08 Burnaby elections."
Can endorsement from federal or provincial politicians work? The answer is yes they will if they represent the people in their ridings. Did both federal MP's achieve 50% in elections? Do they actually represent the majority of the constituents? If they do not, then why is their endorsement of any mayoral candidate any more relevant than the three BCL MLA's who received blessings from the majority of their riding constituents. In reality however, each endorsement will directly bring the votes and money involved in an election and anyone who says otherwise is lying.
However, does winning the endorsement battles mean automatic victory? If it does, then you would be seeing Stephen Dion on tv explaining why he is not going to support Kyoto Protocol today, not Stephen Harper. Election result is determined by the voters and if none of the candidates can convey the confidence of the people, then someone like Chuck Cadman will be elected. But the trend has seen that voters are becoming more confident in the anti-NDP faction and if TB can recruit the correct candidate and scores the right endorsement, the party will be aiming a lot higher than 52%.
"I too would agree with that wholeheartedly. Like in all democratic societies, no nomination should be appointed by anyone, and TB mayoral candidate will likely face a vote unless proven to be a consensus choice between tories and liberals."
Bit of a conflict there.
There should not be any 'consensus
choice between tories and liberals' since that is in essence a predetermined outcome, rather than one as a product of the membership as a whole. Some members are not members of either the tories or liberals.
"In reality however, each endorsement will directly bring the votes and money involved in an election and anyone who says otherwise is lying. "
Not nessesarily since the resource of campaign money for civic elections comes from the same resources as provincial campaigns in Burnaby.
"Is Under 40 a good trait to have? Most definitely, especially when one realizes how famous it has made Alan Lowe in Victoria."
Most likely based on the individual rather than the age of the individual.
Alan Lowe had spent time on Council (9 years) before seeking the Mayor's chair.
Patty Sahota on the other hand has not spent any time on local council.
"But did HB fail T/B in 2005? Not only did TB mayoral candidate obtain more votes than DC did in 2002,"
Election results are not constant, and there's always fluctations in votes. The BCA/NDP was unusually weak in 2005, and they know it, and most likely will be stronger in 2008.
"They for the first time in years were less than 10 votes away from making DC requiring unanimous BCA support on all council votes,"
But the outcome was that goal failed to materialize, so currently, it is a non-issue. It's
also a product of the BCA/NDP being a bit unusually weak, which no doubt the BCA will work to correct next time. 2005 was not the first time the BCA was markedly
weak.
and most importantly HB was able to convince LR, a former BCA member no less to join the effort to unseat DC."
LR was a post-BCA member before being talked to by HB. He ran as an independent.
"the candidate must be able to recite the local issues by heart and be experienced in iterating their party platform while explaining why NDP/BCA policies have not been working for the past years. "
True, partially, but the voters have not been mad enough to toss out the BCA majority.
The worst reason to vote is to simply toss out a group of representatives simply because their party is not the same as that of the provincial or federal governments.
"
TB needs to find a candidate that can unite the anti-NDP factions in BBY. Thus it is crucial for the candidate to receive backing from BCL members who can certainly testify their credibility in uniting the "Right"/anti-NDP."
Wrong. TB needs to find a candiddate who can display leadership and forward thinking and present policies and directions that the voters would like to see that the incumbent civic government refuses for reasons not known to deliver.
Has little to do with 'anti-NDP' in the terms of deliverance of civic goals and services to the city.
"It will certainly be most convenient if all three MLA's can come out in support of TB's mayoral candidate, especially one that can help each of them safe cruise to another term in Victoria. "
Wrong. That's not the purpose of electing civic representatives to council.
If the BCL MLAs have to ride on the success or perceived success of electing approved-by-Harry or pro-BCL councillors, then there is something seriously wrong with the MLA's themselves.
"Thus it cannot be stressed enough for the candidate to have the appeals to the business community and past acquaintances with various grass-root organizations. "
True. Especially with the grass-root organizations.
Don't know much about the BCA, but it seems that those in Team Burnaby
as written here know about grass-roots organizations.
Grass-roots supporters in Team Burnaby are cut short and fed alot of fertilizer.
The key is contact with other grass-roots groups, but many people including myself will vote on the basis of the individual candidate being able to deliver
sound civic service to the city rather than being a puppet for some MLA, or a vehicle for someone's perceived political partisan success.
Service to the city and people of Burnaby comes first.
The rest (perceived support paths for BCL MLA's Harry Bloy and a home for a defunct MLA) does not matter.
How is it that when rumors surrounding Greg Robertson running against Sam Sullivan all he gets is flowers and kisses but when it comes to a former cabinet minister it is nothing but vicious words. Goes to show the double standards within NDP has the kind of internal structure in all three levels of government that are starting to resemble the Communist Party.
There are already countless examples of political patronage that disgust Canadians. However, BCL is an excellent example of an alliance that people would like to see. They want to see tories and liberals shaking hands and help each other elect someone both sides can accept while staying out of their federal race, sometimes battles can occur like what Mary Polak had been through, but typically both sides will agree with settle for a candidate that is not going to effect the outcome of federal races where either side has a shot of winning. HB thus has successfully united the anti-BCA forces and had a good election result, again 10 votes from splitting the council seats and will likely gain in 2008 as people start believing in the alliance.
"TB needs to find a candidate who can display leadership and forward thinking and present policies and directions that the voters would like to see that the incumbent civic government refuses for reasons not known to deliver." Certainly TB is not going to seek Mr. Democracy's mayoral nomination as while his passion for politics is touching, his unfortunate incidents in the provincial politics have resulted in a serious lack of public faith. All those things mentioned are what we as voters look for. People constantly criticize Patty Sahota for her "lack" of political experiences to convince of people of her potentials when she has all of those. But that is exactly the kind of fresh face that T/B should market themselves for, a fresh alternative to govern, especially with the defection of ex-NDP/BCA member LR to the alliance.
"The key is contact with other grass-roots groups, but many people including myself will vote on the basis of the individual candidate being able to deliver
sound civic service to the city rather than being a puppet for some MLA, or a vehicle for someone's perceived political partisan success."
I however has a hard time understanding why people constantly criticize such a mayoral pick as a partisan move for self gains. If that's the reason, she would have lost by landslide in an NDP riding but she didnt 6 months after her previous opponent got elected on the council. Some here have made her sound like a disaster whe she was involved with many community affairs.
As a colleague to all three MLA'S, and three years under a huge Campbell reign, she has all the defense she needs against unfounded attacks like this. How is an ex-cabinet minister from the riding unfit to govern the riding she was elected from. True, with her being the mayor, all three MLA's will not need to worry about the constant involvement of DC % Co. in provincial politics, but we all know best there any association with political rewarding deals for the voters will be the kiss of death for any party, especially for BCA. Thus, questions like that will come up, but usually that's just political tactics that is common in any sort of election, and dirty or not, there is no one more familiar with it then those ex-BCL MLA's that lost their 2005 election, e.g. Joyce Murray (also a one-term ex-cabinet minister or Patty Sahota.
Seems to be more of a focus in the interests for a provincial party,
a previous MLA who received a last minute cabinet appointment and another MLA who wants to protect his own personal interest than those of the city.
Personally, I'd vote for those candidates who care more about the City of Burnaby than protecting the interest of a provincial political party or MLAs.
That's more important and is the reason to elect people to council.
We elect good community minided people to get things done for the city, not to protect the interest of a provincial political party or
in particular to ensure MLAs are
re-elected.
If candidates or their supporters hope for an election win on the basis of protecting the interests of the BCL, then I'm not interested in voting for that particular candidate.
I'll choose those who are more inclined to focus on the growth of the fortunes of our city, rather than the growth of fortunes for an obviously favoured former MLA, a provincial party or an MLA that appears to want more power and influence than is actually warranted.
One has to wodner why all this attention on Patty Sahota specfically and not someone else who has actually done things for the communuity, irrregardless of what provincial affliations he or she might have?
Seems that a few see Sahota as some kind of saviour for T/B fortunes, and see her as a favourite because she is less than 40 years old.
Probably a few of the worst reasons to consider a person for possible nomination.
The BCA and the sharp voter will see through the polymer packaging.
The NDP are the best in the business when it comes to opposition research and they can and will tear Sahota apart
A disaster waiting to happen, but political watchers in Burnaby have seen spectacular disasters occur within Team Burnaby before.
As previously mentioned, if Team Burnaby wants to become a party of civic government, shed the excessive influences of MLAs, (one in particular should be told to get lost) get some excellent community minded and well known community contributors as candidate contenders, and set some policies that are marketable and are what the voters wantm, but the BCA hasn't delivered. Add in a fun contributory environment for campaign volunteers and additional
council members representing Team Burnaby will be the result.
But sadly, T/B is once again a dump tank for dirty inside politics, power and influence, and
once again a vehicle for those who want a pre-chosen candidate.
Who would want to be a member of that?
Someone memtioned Mr. Democracy.
Gawd people what a joke he was.
Is that idiot still around?
If it came down to choosing Lee Rankin over Sahota as a mayor candidate for nomination, I'd go for Lee Rankin in a second.
Good grief people. Think about it.
Harry Bloy wants to continue influencing Team Burnaby as he has always done.
Some provincial Liberals want a previous MLA who was given a last minute political appointment to try and save her from defeat which happened anyway.
A few Liberals want Team Burnaby elected to ensure the re-election of Liberal MLAs.
Not one mention of goals and ideas
for making Burnaby even better than it is.
Not one mention of possible candidates from amongst those who
are community leaders and doers
who are not involved federally or provincially.
The sum?
Team Burnaby ends up being not much more than Harry Bloy's party and a civic branch of the BC Liberal Party.
Quite similar to what Team Burnaby has been anyway.
Who needs or even would want that?
Better choice would be to just pick and choose the best candidates individually from amongst those running and vote for them irregardless of provincial or federal party background.
Sahota for municipal elections in Burnaby. you must be joking. she does not have nothing to do with Burnaby and this is not provincial nomination that she can work her way through. she should never have gotten the nomination in 2000 for Burnaby Edmonds as she had moved here overnight to claim theriding nomination. the only qualification she has is to manipulate a provincial nomination through her contacts. she was not effective as an MLA. voters were not happy with her and eagerly removed her from Burnaby Edmonds.
One needs some knowledge of the community issues, and involvement in the community to be elected on civic level.
she is not qualified to run even as a school trustee here as she hardly has anything to do with this community. she got in via a Liberal sweep in 2000 otherwise she could never make it in Burnaby.
Burnaby voters are smart and savvy and know who they want for their public office.
Everyone on the local level is fifty plus. Gary Begin is sixty five. Does that mean he should retire and make way for under 40 candidates? just because some one is under 40? certainly not. Wisdom and experience is most valuable in running public affairs.
Sahota for municipal elections in Burnaby. you must be joking. she does not have nothing to do with Burnaby and this is not provincial nomination that she can work her way through. she should never have gotten the nomination in 2000 for Burnaby Edmonds as she had moved here overnight to claim theriding nomination. the only qualification she has is to manipulate a provincial nomination through her contacts."
Exactly. SHe was technically a parachute candidate, since she did not develop much of any visible
background within Burnaby prior to her getting that 2000 Nomination.
"she was not effective as an MLA. voters were not happy with her and eagerly removed her from Burnaby Edmonds. "
Very true, her support level stagnated and did not grow and there were tactical errors made in her campaign.
"One needs some knowledge of the community issues, and involvement in the community to be elected on civic level. "
Very true. It is different than provincial, and federal is quite
different than provincial.
"she is not qualified to run even as a school trustee here as she hardly has anything to do with this community. she got in via a Liberal sweep in 2000 otherwise she could never make it in Burnaby. "
True. The timing could not have been better.
"Burnaby voters are smart and savvy and know who they want for their public office."
We do? Oh yea. We do.
"Everyone on the local level is fifty plus. Gary Begin is sixty five. Does that mean he should retire and make way for under 40 candidates?"
Nope. If he figures he can contribute to the civic level, why should Gary step aside for Patty
Sahota? Gary has years of civic
involvement that is a plus for Burnaby.
"just because some one is under 40? certainly not. Wisdom and experience is most valuable in running public affairs. "
Very true. If Sahota wants to make a difference, she should learn the
civic government by seeking a seat
on council, and learn how it works.
But why all this attention towards Patty Sahota in the first place?
Personally, given a choice, I'd nominate Lee Rankin over Patty Sahota.
Lee has a lengthy civic record. Patty does not.
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