Friday 3 November 2017

Next Election is October 20,2018 - What's changed?

The first important one is the intention of local Liberals to form a "Local Electors' Group" aka a muncipal political party. The 'North Vancouver Citizen Action Association' won't be able to become legal until they register during the nomination process in August 2018.  They will be the second one to form one since Amalgamate North Vancouver in the 2014 election.
Here is their statement of intentions in their initial press release
Local Liberals used to be a force in the City of North Vancouver politics with former members of Council Barb Sharp (after she moved from the NDP), Barb Perrault, Bob Heywood, Guy Heywood, Bob Fearnley, 
The Association has claimed they will form a legal Society under The Society Act, an act that will bring some legal and administrative obligations
Guy Heywood, former Councillor, reported on their website that there were about 40 persons in attendance and that 15 people sent their regrets.


Friday 20 October 2017

It's time to start this blog up again!

The primary focus of this blog is to remove the spin from the world of North Van City politics. Let's unspin the campaigns of Bill and Dorothy Bell's quest to be the City of North Van's first married couple on Council.

Bill and Dorothy Bell published Bell's News and Photography as campaign material for their first run in 2014  based on the political theory that posting lots of pictures of North Van would attract the attention of those who didn't remember Bill Bell from his time of being a Council member almost two decades ago would remember his name on voting day and his wife Dorothy Bell. A very superficial strategy but voters can vote somewhat superficially in a municipal campaign. Perhaps many remembered his betrayal of the NDP when he ran for the Federal Liberals in the 2000 election.

Bill had a North Van record of both success and failure being elected to Council but failing to win the Mayor's chair in 2002, perhaps his failure was telegraphed by where his campaign office was in the Rusty Gull. 

They doomed their campaign by endorsing Kerry Morris for Mayor. Kerry,  with no record of being elected or serving the people such as Mayor Mussatto being a paramedic and a Council prior to being elected to Council, the unemployable Kerry took a large stack of inherited money and tried to buy the Mayor's Chair.  He ran an ego campaign fueled with the brash loudness of someone who thought he knew everything but didn't know or have any experience with anything useful.

Bill Bell had no deep principle, only a deep seated hatred of Mussatto due to his loss for the Mayors' Chair in 2002 and his failure to become the Member of Parliament in 2000 as the Liberal candidate, and a deep financial need to suck more money out of the City as they had retired in Mexico at 50ish and have run out of money to continue their retirement for the next 20 years that they should live, according to demographics and Stats Canada. So at least one of them had to win to keep a roof over their heads.

As Socialists, they found what Lenin called "useful idiots" the North Vancouver "Voices Collective" filled that role. The Bell plan and failed as they made the classic mistake of rookie people on Survivor, they joined the second place group and joined the electoral bottom of their lineup. As well, Dorothy took on the role of a neo-Marxist radical feminist, harassing Iani Makris  and finished well down the list only 1 ahead of Iani. 

The Bell propaganda machine was joined by  the northvancitynews.com after the 2014 election but the site had not been paid for and lasted a couple of years.

Morris' ego made him run for Mayor when had he run and won a Councillor's seat role and planned a Mayor's run in 2018, he might of at least had some credibility to run for Mayor. Of course, Kerry the rage filled alcoholic homophobe that enough voters learned about to deny him the Mayor's chair would have emerged during his hypothetical term and doomed his run for Mayor in 2018.

As part of a not legally recognized electoral organization (municipal political party) with Morris as their Master, Bill, Dorothy, Amanda Nichol and Councillors Bookham and Clark formed what I have named Kerry Morris Voices, since they have failed to officially and legally register as a Party and try to pretend they are independents.

Bill and Dorothy will probably run again although Bill will quality for his government retirement pensions so can retire a second time, funded this time. Perhaps Bill will get in since likely Don Bell and Pam Bookham will announce their retirement and leave an easier run to get the fifth and sixth seats.  As well Linda Buchanan will be running for Mayor leaving so only incumbents Craig Keating, Rod Clark and Holly Back will be in the race leaving 3 spots open for new Councillors. I'll do a post on the likely candidates later.