TEAM endorses Meena Wong for mayor, saying Kirk LaPointe "is not setting the world on fire"

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      A second Vancouver political party that's sitting out this election has recommended a slate of candidates.

      The Electors' Action Movement, also known as TEAM, has endorsed three COPE candidates, including Meena Wong for mayor.

      It comes a few days after Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver recommended that voters support either Wong or the NPA's Kirk LaPointe.

      In a news release issued today TEAM conceded that Gregor Robertson will likely be reelected as mayor, but still called on Vancouverites to support Wong.

      "COPE’s Meena Wong has done well articulating the left-of-centre position, especially on topics such as affordable housing and transportation, and she will take votes from Robertson," the party stated.

      For council, TEAM recommended COPE's Tim Louis and Lisa Barrett, who are the left-wing party's only two council candidates who've been elected before.

      In addition, TEAM has endorsed all three Green candidates: incumbent Adriane Carr, Cleta Brown, and Pete Fry.

      Three NPA council candidates were also given a thumbs up by Team: incumbent George Affleck, incumbent Elizabeth Ball, and Ian Robertson.

      TEAM's goal is to have at least six non-Vision Vancouver councillors elected to ensure no party controls council. TEAM refused to endorse NPA mayoral candidate Kirk LaPointe, claiming that he "is not setting the world on fire".

      "Kirk is saying much of what many want to see happen, but seems to not be able to say it with the clarity and conviction that’s required to inspire a broad enough spectrum of voters to support him," TEAM stated. 

      Comments

      10 Comments

      Ellen Woodsworth Still in Hiding

      Nov 6, 2014 at 11:42am

      Poor Ellen Woodsworth is nowhere to be found. She's probably appalled at the mockery of all the work she had put into COPE going down in flames with Meena Wong as a mayoral candidate. Big proclamations without details and costing shows she either has a hidden agenda or she just doesn't know what Plan B is when platforms fall apart or run into roadblocks like jurisdictional issues, violation of rights, compliance, etc. All is agreed Robertson is a tremendous disappointment, but as evidenced by the recent uproar in creating affordable living spaces for the homeless (ie: Quality Inn), how will COPE deal with the tension between the need for residents to feel safe in their neighborhoods versus housing the homeless? How to implement incentives for developers to create low-cost housing without placing yet another tax burden on Vancouverites? Where is Ellen Woodsworth? Sounds like a boardgame.

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      Ellen Woodsworth is running the Hot Pink Campaign

      Nov 6, 2014 at 1:28pm

      And the above comment is hilarious. COPE has funding and jurisdictional details in its platform - it's just that people like the above refuse to acknowledge them.

      Use some imagination in this town and clearly explain how to reconcile jurisdictional and funding issues - people ignore the explanations and demand them at the same time. Keep scatter shooting objections and hoping some of them will stick. I'm voting for Meena. I was part of making the policy you're laughing at and I will vote for it.

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      Charles

      Nov 6, 2014 at 1:41pm

      Lemme see if I've got this straight.

      TEAM — a party that is wholly controlled by Bill McCreery (who lives in Richmond — what the hell is he doing interfering in Vancouver politics?) and Dave Pasin — both of whom ran as Non-Partisan Association (NPA) candidates in the 2011 — come out today in support of Meena Wong today?

      Hubris much?

      Not to mention, Dave Pasin's politics are somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun, and he's endorsing a mayoral candidate who will work to end renovictions, work to ensure a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and intends to use taxpayer's dollars to build 800 units of social housing each year — mostly in the DTES -- over the next 10 years? Really? Davey boy, I never knew ye.

      bobo

      Nov 6, 2014 at 1:55pm

      Meena Wong said that the biggest environmental threat to Vancouver is -wait for it- cars!!! What a ridiculous statement. This just shows that she really has no grasp on what is really going on, she is just jumping on Gregor's bandwagon. Only clueless people like those presently occupying city hall can't seem to understand that cars (and trucks) are a valuable, viable part of the transportation plan. Not everyone can take public transit and public transit doesn't go everywhere on a reasonable schedule. I recently had to go to Langley for a business meeting and then over to N. Van for a doctor's appointment. Who really thinks I could even do that in one day if I relied on public transit???? And should I put my mom on a bus when she has to visit several doctors in one day???? Ridiculous statements based on silly ideologies - we already have that in city hall.

      The Above COPE Lover Poster is Laughable

      Nov 6, 2014 at 2:02pm

      Oh please, the platform doesn't address anything from funding shortfalls in collecting levies against absent condo owners, what to do with residents who oppose housing the homeless in their neighborhoods, the burden of proof for small business owners to prove they are indeed "small" business, etc. Vote for anything you like, but don't sell smelly cheese that is apparent to others.

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      Duh of Course!

      Nov 6, 2014 at 2:24pm

      @ Meena Wong Supporter

      Then where is Ellen Woodsworth? If she is actively wanting to support COPE in its' current form, surely the Georgia Straight would have given her plenty of ink by now. Of course you are going to come out pushing COPE's flawed policies since you've just made public that you had a hand in drafting them. I agree with the above comment, what happens if it fails? Where's the funding for a massive increase in demand for buses? Will the Board of Directors for Translink be dismantled, and what will take its' place? What about people who do not use transit, do they still pay?

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      Eastendian

      Nov 6, 2014 at 3:42pm

      This endorsement makes sense because if Meena can pull enough votes away from Gregor, Kirk will get in.

      MannyHo

      Nov 6, 2014 at 4:34pm

      I agree with the three NPA candidates, and it would be nice if Vision did not have a guaranteed majority on Council this time around, but that's about it. Meena Wong has no chance of being elected, her platform is a confusing morass of catch-phrases and unrealistic goals. Gregor would probably be better than Kirk, who seems a bit out of his element in this campaign and can get quite grumpy with the press, especially with Frances Bula. I'd like to see a variety of councillors with no more than 3 max from each of the various major parties.

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      Nelson100

      Nov 8, 2014 at 6:34am

      Let's start by removing Vision from power and work from there. An efficient way to do that can be found by Googling "2014 NSV slate"