Civic Elections 2011 - Metro Vancouver

[Doctor Benry]

Metro Vancouverites. Have you ever voted in a municipal election? I am also curious as to which newbies and incumbents you think will get re-elected. I keep reading in the newspaper that there is a good slate of talented candidates this year.

This will be my first year voting in a municipal election. I guess I will be part of the 33% or whatever voter turnout these elections draw.

[Handsome Rob]

I've never voted in a municipal election. Past communities I've lived in, the mayor would run unopposed or without realistic competition. They've managed this by quietly running council/city-town hall without perceived scandal, mega-projects, etc. I would not suggest that such things never occurred, but if they did they were seldom reported. When they do occur to such a damaging extent, somebody steps up and runs, and wins easily.

This will be my first civic election in Vancouver, and I'm left trying to fathom a choice between bile and vomit of mainstream.

I could never vote for Gregor Robertson's wheat fields, chicken coops & bike lanes, while watching things like parks & rec budgets falter to the point of cancelling kids summer camps. On top of this mismanagement he comes up with nonsense like 'greenest city in the world initiative' spending more money they don't have, just like the city engineers that moved out of a perfectly good office into a complete brand new building they didn't need at a meagre $50 million.

On the other hand we have Susan Anton, who seems to be Carole James reincarnated. The only thing I ever hear out of her, "Gregor Robertson bad, Vision Vancouver evil." While I'm minded to agree with her, I can't vote for somebody based wholly on attack ads. When she does get around to talking about things she actually wants to do, it sales pitches beyond far fetched, like building dozens of new schools with provincial money she believes will magically appear out of thin air.

With both of them out, the most likely candidate appears to be Randy Helton. Very tentative of course, one could always vote for 'DubGee.'

http://dubgeeformayor.blogspot.com/