COPE's David Cadman calls Vision divisive

The Coalition of Progressive Electors has been appealing to Vision Vancouver since last year to consider a common candidate for mayor, as well as shared slates and a joint campaign to defeat the Non-Partisan Association.

COPE’s lone councillor, David Cadman—widely regarded as a potential mayoral candidate—offered a while ago to give way to a contender who can bring the two parties together for November’s civic election.

For all COPE’s past entreaties—as chronicled in a recent party newsletter—Vision Vancouver hasn’t even given COPE the benefit of a formal negotiation. And in scathing remarks in a March 4 interview, Cadman finally spoke out, describing Vision Vancouver as a “divider” that isn’t interested in seeing progressive forces unite.

“COPE has sought unity, and Vision has sought division,” Cadman told the Georgia Straight. “I’m an eternal optimist, but I must say I’m also a realist. And I see the position taken by Vision as being divisive. It’s been division, not visionary.”

Without naming anyone in particular, Cadman said: “There was disappointment on my part when people who had been elected on a COPE banner not only left but left the party in debt for monies that have been used to elect them, and went off to form a new party knowing fully well that it would handicap COPE.

“Now having lost the mayoralty race, the majority on council, the majority on school board, and majority on park board, for them not to see that in unity there’s strength and to continue to want to divide progressive forces in the city I think is regrettable,” Cadman also said.

In the 2002 election, then-mayor Larry Campbell and councillors Jim Green, Tim Stevenson, and Raymond Louie were all elected under the COPE flag. The four later comprised the core group that broke away from the party and formed Vision Vancouver. Green eventually ran for mayor but lost in the 2005 election that saw Mayor Sam Sullivan’s NPA grab majorities on council, the school board, and the park board.

“Most people understand now that Vision is seeking to divide progressive forces rather than unite them,” Cadman said. “It’s a classic case of triangulation. They want to say, ”˜[COPE is] too far left, [the NPA is] too far right, we’re just right.’ ”

It will be ironic, added Cadman, if former NPA fundraiser Allan De Genova, a long-time developer and current park board commissioner, wins Vision Vancouver’s mayoral nomination, thereby affirming that, indeed, “they are truly right.”

By all indications, Vision Vancouver is going ahead with its nominating contests for mayor, council, school board, and park board. If Vision Vancouver councillor George Chow’s thinking is to be considered a measure of his party leadership’s view, unity as envisioned by COPE is a dim possibility.

In an interview with the Straight, Chow said that although COPE has been calling for an independent candidate endorsed by both parties, “that’s not happening.”

“Gregor is actually running under the Vision banner,” Chow said, referring to Vancouver-Fairview NDP MLA Gregor Robertson. Chow still isn’t saying who he is supporting among the potential candidates, who could also include Louie.

“I would be looking for someone who can unite diverse voters,” Chow said. “So the challenge for all three candidates is to actually try to draw those voters from the COPE side while running as a Vision mayoralty candidate.”

Chow also acknowledged that Robertson may do better than Louie in courting COPE voters. “On the surface of it, he [Robertson] has not been a COPE member and he was not in the battle during the split, so obviously he may have an advantage there,” Chow said.

COPE executive member Rachel Marcuse noted that COPE has formed a candidate-selection committee, and that the executive committee is now acting as the party’s election-planning committee.

“We’re very much moving ahead regardless of what happens in Vision,” Marcuse told the Straight.

Although highly doubtful, Cadman isn’t ruling out the prospect that the two parties may still be able to strike an arrangement for the election. Marcuse had this to say regarding such a scenario: “We haven’t seen a lot of leadership from them [Vision Vancouver] on this yet, but we’re still hopeful.”

COPE’s February 21 newsletter stated that the party wrote to Vision Vancouver on January 24, asking the newly elected Vision Vancouver executive to enter into formal negotiations for a common campaign. Interviewed on March 3, Marcuse said that COPE was still waiting for a response.