Dear Joe Hatoum:

First up, congratulations. I see from the final tally that your mayoral race was a success, especially given that you’re a young lad from all the way out in Maple Ridge who decided to run in the Vancouver civic election with all the other mayoral candidates in that most crowded of races.

I see you finished with 241 votes this time, placing 12th out of 15. Not bad at all, and when I say not bad, I say it because I remember you in 2005, when you were three years younger than you are now and had your first stab at running for office. Remember? That time you did not even crack three figures, scraping together 96 votes and ending up second to last on a long list of 20 candidates.

So why do I pick on your race? Well, last time you ran you were a wee, wee tiny bit aggressive and came across to my then-33-year-old eyes as a little pissed off at the system. Your shorts were hanging low and you had a huge sidewards lean as you shuffled along, trying all the time not to lose your shorts as they threatened to fall down to your ankles. You were at one all-candidates mayoral debate at the West End Community Centre, where you would amble up to the stage when called to answer a question. You’d pick up the mike like you were about to throw down a freestyle rap. Instead you talked about how most of what passed for politics was messed up, and you were just the guy to ring in changes, mainly through citizens bombarding you with to-do wishes that would be dealt with in a big civic paper heap.

This time you had lost the lean and the shorts and looked like you’d done an awful lot of growing since 2005. And hey, nice shirt on that Shaw TV profile too, Joe. Your choice of raw sewage as a core issue is right on the money and the pulse, and thank you for taking that on.

“The municipalities of B.C., Vancouver, and the GVRD are irresponsibly allowing their raw sewage to be flushed into the ocean,” you stated on the Shaw segment. “I won’t win, but I’d like to get the ball rolling, so that this can be a better future for all of us, especially for the kids.”

Nicely put.

Now my second point: I was genuinely surprised to see you back at it again in Vancouver. Maple Ridge could have used your help, especially with your environmental acumen. Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows NDP MLA Michael Sather was doing battle for all he was worth to prevent the erosion of farmland and the ALR by vowing he would protect it if elected. It didn’t happen of course, but he was up against your just-defeated incumbent Gordy Robson and now-mayor-elect Ernie Daykin.

You chose to run in Vancouver again, begging the question: Will you run in Maple Ridge in 2011 now that you have shown an improvement in votes? You placed 12th out here, but in the Ridge a guy with your attitude and application would scare the living strip mall out of Daykin. You would hold feet to the fire and no messing. So what say you Joe? Will you take it to the Ridge in 2011?

Matt Burrows