The deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada is considering a run for a seat on Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»city council.
Adriane Carr told the Courier Thursday that she is interested in becoming one of the citys 10 councillors and will make a decision soon. The local branch of the Greens will meet Saturday to discuss its plans for the November civic election.
Im seriously considering a run for a council seat and I am still consulting with supporters and members of the community, said Carr by telephone from Nanaimo, where she was attending a Green Party potluck.
Carr said the party will likely have a nomination race in August, but the party still hasnt determined how many candidates it wants to run, although it could be one each for council, school board and park board. There is no talk of running a mayoral candidate.
I dont think that you leap right in to running for mayor, if youre at all smart about politics, said Carr, when asked if she had any mayoral ambitions.
The local Greens have decided not to run a joint slate with any of the cities three mainstream parties. Had COPEs membership decided at its meeting last month against a coordinated campaign with Vision, the Greens would have been interested in discussing a slate with COPE, said Carr, the former leader of the B.C. Greens.
Carr said she is passionate about several issues in the city that involve protecting the environment, including more discussion regarding the increase in oil tanker traffic around the shores of Vancouver.
Though council held a meeting on oil tanker traffic last summer, Carr said the issue was passed to a Metro Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»committee, which has been silent on any recommendations to prevent an environmental disaster, she said.
Its not good enough for me and I dont believe its good enough for Vancouverites to just shunt that issue off to some other body, Carr said. Everybody has to be realisticwere going to be depending on oil for quite a while but we need to make the transition to a lower carbon economy in every way.
Carr spoke to the Courier on the same day council passed an ambitious environmental plan that sets a road map for the city to follow over the next nine years to make Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³» the greenest city in the world.
Carr said she plans to read the Greenest City 2020 Action Plan but couldnt attend the meeting yesterday or the presentation by deputy city manager Sadhu Johnston at Tuesdays council meeting because of a pre-booked tour of British Columbia as deputy leader of the Greens.
Carr said she is concerned about councils focus on separated bike lanes, which run from Kitsilano to Chinatown. A business impact study on the lanes is expected to go before council before the end of the month.
The idea of shifting people from cars to bikes is great but only a small portion of people will go that way, she said. There needs to be a much greater emphasis on other options for car drivers, especially a far better transit system and [council] needs to lobby heavily in terms of getting the money for that.
More focus is also needed on creating more options for pedestrians, including pedestrian malls, and building affordable housing, said Carr, who lives in the West End and has a cabin in the woods in Gibsons.
Carr is no stranger to elections, having run in the recent federal election. She ran as the Green candidate in Vancouver-Centre, where she collected 9,089 votes for a fourth place finish. Incumbent Liberal Hedy Fry was re-elected.
Carrs federal run was her second in the riding, placing fourth in 2008 behind the NDP, Conservatives and Fry, who has held Vancouver-Centre over seven elections since 1993. Carr also ran in the 2005 provincial election as the Green candidate for Powell River-Sunshine Coast and unsuccessfully in a Surrey byelection in 2004.
Meanwhile, Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Coun. George Chow said he expects to make a decision this weekend on whether he will seek the NDP nomination for the provincial riding of Vancouver-Fraserview.
I have to speak to a few more supporters, Chow told the Courier Friday.
Chow announced last month that he wasnt seeking a third term with Vision Vancouver. The former B.C. Hydro engineer said the provincial government has to build more affordable housing and put some money up for seniors housing and a seniors centre in Vancouver-Fraserview, a riding that is currently represented by Liberal MLA Kash Heed.
At council, Chow has been an advocate of electoral reform and was disappointed the provincial government hasnt agreed to councils recommendations to impose fundraising limits on civic parties.
That is an issue he would address if he decides to run for a seat and get elected, Chow said. Although political pundits had been predicting a fall provincial election, the latest speculation is that a provincial vote wont occur until next year.
Twitter: @Howellings
