So, youre talking to a friend from say, Calgary or Toronto, about Vancouvers upcoming municipal election (just humour me, OK?) and youre met with nothing but confused silence on the end of the line.
Were a bit of an anomaly when it comes to civic elections. In politics, as in hockey, Vancouverites are party animals, and the system that confuses outsiders also serves to plague or profit our voters, depending on whom you ask.
Sure, other cities run slates, Montreal for example. But when Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»parties down at the polls, we do it with a zeal far beyond whats found in other large Canadian cities. Weve forgone the relatively common ward system in favour of keeping the pie whole, preferring not to carve up the city but rather hand it over in one piece to one of two mainstream parties.
Paul Tennant, professor emeritus of political science at UBC and one-time Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»city council candidate, says there are some significant advantages to our unique system.
I think it gives more accountability, he says from his Bowen Island home. If theres one group in charge that has the majority, as Gregor Robertson does now, then people can vote either for or against that point of view and those policies. When one party gains a majority at City Hall things run more smoothly and more gets done. The slate system also helps voters make informed decisions by turning what would otherwise be a laundry list of names into easily identified political allegiances.
But the party system may be preventing people from getting to the polls in the first place. Tennant admits most voters hold a significant prejudice against political parties out of a primordial fear of corruption. He stops short of attributing Vancouvers dismal voter turnout rate (31 per cent in the last election) to public distaste for the party system, but independent council candidate Sandy Garossino sees a correlation.
Im very concerned about the amount of money thats going into politics and what it does to the public confidence in the impartiality and the integrity of the system, she says. After spearheading a successful campaign to block a proposal for the Edgewater Casino expansion with Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Not Vegas, the former crown prosecutor was reportedly courted by more than one mainstream party, though she declined to discuss any invitations.
With both Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and the Non-Partisan Association spending an estimated $5 million to $6 million on their campaigns much of it sourced from developers Garossino says aligning with a political party at the very least presents a perception of conflict of interest in development-mad Vancouver.
While independent candidates are often ignored by the media or portrayed as Quixotic caricatures, Garossino feels Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»needs to move away from the partisan politics that have led to a culture of conflict and division at City Hall.
Garossinos not opposed to having some slates in Vancouver, but she sees a need for more diverse voices at City Hall. We have looked at this political landscape very carefully... and we think theres a very strong appetite for independent voices to be heard. The trouble, she says, is independent voices struggle to rise above the din of the major parties.
Anthony Hamilton, democratic spaces co-ordinator with the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»Public Space Network (VPSN), says thats a major problem in Vancouver. I think the media has narrowed the mayoral race to a two-horse race, which is unfair to everyone involved, he says. With attention almost exclusively focussed on an NPA-Vision showdown and many debates excluding independent candidates, the electorate is suffering, Hamilton adds. I dont think a municipal debate should have only two candidates in it.
Including more diverse candidates may also help engage more prospective voters. Independent and alternative candidates far outweighed established candidates at the VPSNs Last Candidate Standing debate held Sunday at UBC Robson Square. It also happened to draw a crowd of about 200 easily five times that of the turnout to a mayoral debate between Suzanne Anton and Gregor Robertson held a week earlier in Chinatown. Neither Anton nor Robertson were in attendance at the VPSNs event last Sunday. Hamilton noted the informal setting of the VPSNs debate likely played more to the strengths of unscripted, less party-fied candidates. Its hard to connect with people, as we ask them to in there, if youre talking off of talking points, he says.
In the end, Hamilton said the lighthearted event in which the winner, 22-year-old independent candidate Lauren Gill, was determined by audience applause after answering several rounds of questions put the power back where it should be.
The winner is the candidate who can win over the people, which is the point of democracy.
The New Kids on the Block
Come Nov. 19, voters may be surprised to find the municipal menu includes more than a choice between Gregor juice man Robertson and Suzanne streetcar Anton with a side of NPA, Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and COPE. Here are some new additions to the slate system:
Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver
Outspoken community group goes political with five-person slate and a platform for neighbourhood-based democracy. NSVancouver.ca
De-Growth Party
An iteration of the Work Less Party, De-Growth focuses on a rational discussion about limited growth and sustainability. De-Growth.com/Vancouver
Green
You know it at the federal and provincial level, now Green goes local with lone candidate Adriane Carr. BetterVancouver.ca
RICH
Stands for Rent Is Crazy High. Nuff said.
Re Party Vancouver
Pledges tax reform. RePartyCanada.Blogspot.com
And thats not all, theres more at Vancouver.ca
