He's never lost an election in the five times his name has been put on the ballot for Vancouver voters.

He has a demonstrated track record in raising oodles of money for his political campaigns.

He has sky-high name recognition, which is one of the most important considerations in municipal politics.

And he can attract votes on the East Side unlike anyone else in the NPA.

Egad. Am I really suggesting that former mayor Sam Sullivan should be the NPA dragon slayer to take on Vision Vancouver mayor Gregor Robertson in 2011?

Well, the centre-right Vancouver civic party could do a lot worse.

Sullivan's political career appeared to be toast after he was kneecapped for the 2008 NPA mayoral nomination by his former colleague, Peter Ladner.

But now, the NPA is desperate. And running Sullivan for mayor would create a great deal of media attention, which would help all those NPA candidates who will run for council, park board, and school board.

The media would feast on Sullivan, the perpetual underdog, attempting a political comeback. And Sullivan's candidacy, which would highlight his East Side roots, would diminish public perceptions that the NPA is just a front for the Vancouver Board of Trade and residents of Shaughnessy.

Some in the NPA are trying to get former councillor Tung Chan to head the ticket in 2011.

I'm not sure that Chan, a former banker, is really interested in the job.

Sullivan's extensive efforts to learn Cantonese have endeared him to some in the Chinese community, and might help blunt the efforts of Vision Vancouver to make inroads in this area.

Moreover, Sullivan can give speeches in Punjabi and has learned a fair amount of Tagalog, which is the main language in the Philippines.

Toss in his passable Italian and the NPA has the potential to pick up votes across the East Side with Sullivan as the mayoral candidate.

He would probably still lose the election to Robertson, but his coattails would be long enough to ensure that the NPA wouldn't be obliterated across the board.

And unlike Ladner, Sullivan might be crafty enough to sow some divisions between Vision Vancouver, COPE, and the Greens.

If he were to do that, then the 2011 election would truly be up for grabs.

Follow Charlie Smith on Twitter at twitter.com/csmithstraight.