New Media

Politics can be nasty, brutish and quicker than anyone suspected. Vancouver Sam Sullivan is on his way out after an upset at Sunday’s nomination process (Who knew about this thing?). Newly-crowned Non-Partisan Association head honcho Peter Ladner now has the chance to grasp the brass ring that is the Mayor’s office (CBC). First, he’ll have an election to fight, though.

Will Sullivan’s supporters go over to Ladner in solidarity with the NPA cause? It doesn’t look like Sullivan is going to fight it. “I’m really honoured to continue to finish off my term and I will go on and do something else,” he says with far speedier poise than Hillary Clinton was able to pull off when her own campaign finally hit a brick wall.

The city has real issues that the next mayor, whoever it is, will have to deal with promptly. Our city is still swarming with homeless. The drug trade is going gangbusters, and gangsta violence is hurting innocents. Parts of Vancouver look like a war zone. We need results… last year.

Of course, whoever does take the reigns at Vancouver City Hall will also be leading a city that has one of the best environmental records in North America, a working multi-ethnic society and an economy that seems to have real staying power even in an economic downturn. And then there’s the Olympics.

Whoever will be mayor, it will be one of the most exciting municipal politics positions anywhere in the world. As for Citizen Sam, you’ve been criticized by your opponents as a politician who is big on ideas but not as effective in getting results. May you use the rest of your tenure as mayor to bring some of your policies to fruition and leave the city in better condition than you found it. Good luck.

US cities are looking at copying Vancouver’s Insite legal injection facility (CP). On one level, it’s encouraging, but on another, it’s kind of depressing.

This is another contentious issue for Vancouver’s socio-political scene. The health care staff at the facility have undoubtedly saved lives and Insite absolutely deserves to stay open so long as it keeps demonstrating a benefit to the community (eg. reducing open drug use on the street that choked the life out of local businesses, curbing the spread of epidemics, etc).

But Insite is just one part of the solution. Getting vulnerable people off the streets and away from horrific conditions is going to reduce the incentive for people to get high for a moment’s respite.

I’m sure I’m not the only one asking the question.

While I’m pretty insulated from the effects of the strike (city managers have even managed to set aside time to spoon-feed me data for an upcoming magazine feature article), countless City residents are certainly losing their patience.

I’m not anti-union. Frankly, I wouldn’t mind belonging to one that managed to get me the kind of benefits that City workers had even before the strike started.

But on the whole, some of CUPE’s demands just seem greedy.

The City’s offer of a 17.5 per cent raise over five years seems decent enough, and pretty much in line with the private sector for outdoor work not involving oil rigs in Alberta.

Meanwhile, why is CUPE asking for a no-layoffs policy? The government is not an employer of last resort. If there’s no work, there’s no work.

Besides, it seems to be a red herring, given that over the past ten years, the City has laid off just 10 workers of a workforce of 3,500. How much more job security could one possibly need?

CUPE also wants all auxiliary work only assigned on the basis of seniority. Why shouldn’t merit be at least a factor, even if not the primary one?

Perhaps Vancouverites are already aware of these kinds of examples, though. It may explain why I have yet to hear a single commuter honking their horn in support for the strikers outside City Hall.

There’s something rotten in the city of Vancouver – and it isn’t the sushi.

One public health issue has been getting a lot more media attention lately in Canada’s 2010 Olympic host city to the world: a desperate lack of public washrooms. With a homeless population numbering in the thousands, this means a lot of human beings are essentially forced to shit and piss in our back alleys.

It’s not just happening in the back alleys. I work downtown. Right on Granville Street outside of the shops, I can see the leavings of our drug-addicted, mentally ill street people on the sidewalk early in the morning. It’s not all from dogs.

This is disgusting. It shouldn’t be happening in this city, in this country. Thankfully (according to the Georgia Straight), the city has finally ordered eight self-cleaning washrooms like they already have in many big cities around the world – and not a moment too soon.

Hopefully, more will follow. Frankly, I’m getting sick of playing “dodge the piles of human waste” every morning. Our Olympic guests are likely to be even less understanding.

Vancouver’s urban renewal continues apace.

The historic Woodwards building in Gastown is the latest casualty in the city’s transformation into an uber modern model of urban design. The landmark building had long since served its usefulness; Woodwards’ department store closed over a decade ago.

People from all over the city came to watch the old building come down in a controlled implosion triggered by explosives. While controlled implosion is often what the general public thinks of when someone mentions demolition, it is a last-resort method owing to the danger of flying debris and other problems.

That said, the event was impressive. Thanks to MetroBlogging Vancouver‘s Miss 604 for the link to the video shown above.