Carole Taylor and Trevor Linden could challenge Gregor Robertson, pollster says
Although no big names have stepped forward so far to challenge Gregor Robertson this fall, the Vancouver mayoral race is far from decided, according to one pollster.
Notwithstanding the two-term incumbent’s popularity, Mario Canseco of Insights West maintains that Robertson doesn’t have it in the bag yet.
With the left flank of the mayor’s Vision Vancouver party deserted by its erstwhile electoral ally, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, he said that a win could be carved out by someone who can patch together the centre-right vote.
“The key here is going to be for the opposition to assemble around a specific candidate,” Canseco told the Straight in a phone interview.
A poll conducted by Insights West of 478 adult residents in the city from February 25 to March 1 this year shows that Robertson enjoys an imposing 52 percent approval rating. But there are vulnerabilities.
“The longer you are in office, the more opportunities you have to make people uncomfortable about your leadership, and...the last couple of years really have given an opportunity for the opposition to look at things that they don’t like,” Canseco said.
Among the names floating around, Canseco cited two potentially credible candidates: former B.C. finance minister and now SFU chancellor Carole Taylor, and hockey-legend-turned-entrepreneur Trevor Linden.
“Carole Taylor has experience in finance. She’s somebody who’s very well known, somebody who’s very close to the city because of her relationship with former mayor Art Phillips,” the Insights West vice president said.
Canseco continued: “Trevor Linden’s name has come up, and there’s a lot of people who say he’s a smart businessman. He’s got a gym. He was a labour negotiator when he was in the NHLPA [NHL Players’ Association]. So I think there’s a lot of ways to look at some of these candidates, and really, you know, assemble a team around them that can make them successful.”
Ultimately, according to Canseco, “this is about convincing people who voted for Robertson, maybe half-heartedly the last time...to look at other options, particularly from the centre-right”.
Comments
9 Comments
Jack
Mar 19, 2014 at 11:17am
"Notwithstanding the two-term incumbent’s popularity"
Why oh why won't the media make it clear that this "popular" mayor won with exactly 15% of the eligible votes. That's right - 15%. That hardly sounds popular to me.
No, he won because of voter apathy. Only 30% of Vancouverites bothered to vote. And that's how you elect a mayor with just 15%.
Kim Lloyd
Mar 19, 2014 at 12:23pm
I would vote for Carole in a second! Time for Gregor to go!
Natty
Mar 19, 2014 at 12:48pm
I was thinking of putting my cat in the running. Seeing as how she doesn't even listen to me when I call her name, I can reliably say she won't listen to the developers either.
centre-right
Mar 19, 2014 at 2:50pm
There is one place for the centre-right: out to the 'Wack where they belong, and stay the hell out of our politics! Take your cars with you!
MD
Mar 19, 2014 at 2:54pm
@Jack
"Why oh why won't the media make it clear that this "popular" mayor won with exactly 15% of the eligible votes. That's right - 15%. That hardly sounds popular to me."
Which still makes him more popular than anyone he ran against at that time, and relatively speaking, that makes him popular, whether you wish to stop seeing the world in absolute terms or not.
You want a different outcome, get out the vote.
I highly doubt if your preferred candidate had won on the same statistics, you would subsequently be on here decrying their legitimacy.
When has any victorious politician, or their supporters, ever taken the stage after winning an election and immediately undercut their mandate by complaining that it wasn't a real win because not enough people bothered to show up?
Those that cast votes decide elections.
Those that cant get their people to show up in the absence of outside compulsion preventing them from doing so complain about turnout and legitimacy.
James Blatchford
Mar 19, 2014 at 3:04pm
Another fantasy poll of little value...how many times will they trot out Carole Taylor's name? Poor woman is trying to enjoy her retirement and nearly 70. As for Trevor, why would he go from hockey icon to 'Mayor Ridicule'? Talk about being sent down to the minors.
Bill
Mar 19, 2014 at 4:28pm
What an absolutely dumb suggestion that we would elect Trevor Linden as mayor of Vancouver. Are we really that easily impressionable? Shame on Mario Canseco and Insights West for trying to overtly influence the political sphere. Although in all honesty, nobody has ever heard of your firm ANYWAY. Pathetic.
G
Mar 19, 2014 at 4:37pm
I am very pessimistic regarding the likelihood of Rennie's Mayor or party being defeated next election. The opposition parties are either too dysfunctional or naive to put forward a potential mayor to challenge Rennie's boy. The NPA can't figure out an issue that will gain votes and they can make people believe concerns them; COPE have fractured thanks to ideological divisions that make one nostalgic for past splits in the left; TEAM are a party that appears to have one message, "Vision bad," but no alternative proposals; the Cedar party thinks bike lanes are an important issue; are the Greens running more than Carr?
Vision have the best propaganda machine in hour history of Vancouver politics and it is at taxpayer expense. They needed a bigger propaganda team to make sure things like bike lanes were given plenty of coverage whilst other deals were going down. Closing a street that was going to be rezoned under Vision's "densification" plan was spun as a "bike safety" issue and a superfluous bike path through Kits & Hadden Parks was proposed to further muddle the issue. Friendly activists were used by Vision to support the plans and in the end cycling advocates ended up giving 1%ers living along Point Grey Road a wonderful gift. Naturally the path through the park was cancelled after the road closure was put in place.
The next election will give the winners 4 years to do the bidding of their masters. If Vision win a majority on council they will give their donors everything they demand, including the "densification" plan which will rezone all residential property in Vancouver within 500 meters of a local shopping area as decided by Vision. It won't just be developers benefiting from Vision maintaining control: there will be more deals like Hootsuite and the DES police station that will give friends of Vision benefits at taxpayer expense. Want to know who will decide what happens to the city over the next 4.5 years if Vision stay in power? Get your hands on the invite list to Rennie's $25,000 lunch with the Mayor. Apparently they do an hilarious bit where the Mayor sits on Rennie's lap and pretends to be his puppet.
bela the bug
Mar 21, 2014 at 11:44am
@ G
All that whining is is extremely productive. Keep it up. Losers always manage to keep losing. The Green Party are prime examples of that. Maybe they can beg their real leader, Stephen Harper, for a couple of vacant seats in the Senate for all their hard work splitting the progressive vote.