COPE councillor Ellen Woodsworth feels disappointed that she wasn't included on the Homeless Emergency Action Team created by Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson.

The 13-member HEAT has two of Robertson's Vision Vancouver party mates—councillors Raymond Louie and Kerry Jang—but neither of the two councillors from COPE, Vision's coalition partner in last month's election.

“I had asked to be on the task force, and I don't know why I wasn't put on it,” Woodsworth told the Straight.

Woodsworth said she asked Robertson and his chief of staff, Mike Magee, who is also Vision's cochair, to include her in the group. She said she learned of the task force's composition only at the December 9 press conference where Robertson unveiled HEAT.

“Yes, I was disappointed,” she said. “I've dealt with housing on the Downtown Eastside; I've worked on the Downtown Eastside for 10 years; I've worked on housing issues for a long time. That was disappointing.”

However, Woodsworth noted that the mayor has put together a good team, citing in particular Janice Abbott, executive director of the Atira Women's Resources Society, and housing advocate David Eby, who is also the new acting executive director of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association.

Robertson wasn't available for comment, and the Straight was referred by staff to Jang, who is HEAT's designated council liaison.

In a phone interview, Jang emphasized that the exclusion of the two COPE councillors “wasn't done on purpose”.

“We wanted to keep the group fairly small because one of the problems with [former Vancouver mayor Sam] Sullivan is he had very large advisory committees, and they just go nowhere fast,” Jang said.

A UBC psychiatry professor, Jang said that he was included on the team for his expertise on the issues of homelessness and real estate, and Louie for his grasp of housing and real-estate issues.

“It was a purely practical decision,” Jang said, noting that he has received several e-mails from individuals asking why they weren't named as HEAT members. “I'm getting a lot of folks asking the same question, ”˜Why wasn't I included?'. Not just COPE but other well-known activists and all that. It wasn't a slight.”