More thoughts on John Horgan, Jenny Kwan, Mable Elmore, and the Vancouver East NDP nomination
Earlier today, I wrote a commentary highlighting how B.C. Liberals might react to two NDP MLAs facing off for their party's federal nomination in Vancouver East.
If Vancouver-Kensington MLA Mable Elmore runs against Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA Jenny Kwan, it will create an appearance of people wanting to flee the B.C. NDP caucus.
While the seeds of their rivalry go back to the fight over Carole James's leadership of the B.C. NDP, it would be a startling development if this festering sore continues dogging the party until the 2017 provincial election.
But that's exactly what could happen as a result of Libby Davies's decision not to seek reelection.
Horgan has likely added fuel to the fire by giving Elmore and Kwan minor-league critic portfolios in comparison to his less-experienced MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, David Eby.
Elmore is the party's watchdog over ICBC and is deputy critic for finance. That's not exactly a front-bench role.
Don't be fooled by the "deputy" label; it's pretty meaningless because all of the glory goes to James, who's the real finance critic. Elmore deserved more after all of her efforts to expand the party's appeal to Filipino Canadians. Keep in mind that her seat is far from a slam dunk.
The fact that James's deputy may run against Kwan for the Vancouver East nomination suggests that there's still a desire to crush the one NDP MLA who publicly called for James to step down in 2010.
For his part, Horgan gave Kwan an even lower-profile role than Elmore in the shadow cabinet. After 17 years in the legislature, Kwan was reduced to being critic for Community Development B.C.
In the meantime, the leader's pet, Eby, is critic for tourism, housing, liquor policy, the B.C. Lottery Corporation, B.C. Pavilion Corporation, Destination B.C., and the Liquor Distribution Branch.
By demonstrating such blatant favouritism to Eby, a rookie MLA, Horgan has created the prospect of the caucus losing its only MLAs of Philippine and Chinese descent before the next election.
That's because whoever loses the battle for Vancouver East may be finished provincially, at least in the near term. It would be hard for Elmore or Kwan to say they're truly interested in provincial issues after publicly announcing a willingness to abandon ship for federal politics.
So what are the consequences if the B.C. NDP caucus loses Elmore and/or Kwan?
Elmore's departure would hamper the provincial party's appeal not only to Filipino Canadians, but also to the LGBT community, peace activists, and those who are outraged about the temporary-foreign-worker program.
If Kwan is kiboshed, the B.C. NDP will create a rift with B.C.'s Chinese-speaking media that won't be healed for a very long time. Kwan is also strongly supported by Downtown Eastside housing activists and by advocates of scientifically based approaches to drug addiction.
If either of these candidates were to lose the Vancouver East NDP nomination, it could not only throttle the B.C. NDP's chances of reelecting all of its MLAs in Vancouver and Burnaby, but also undermine the federal party's chance of retaining its two Vancouver seats.
The appearance of any vendetta against Kwan will come at a price.
It's a high-stakes game for the NDP, caused in part by a provincial leader who appears to not fully understand the nuances of Vancouver politics.
The last thing the B.C. NDP needs at this point is for a rift to develop between New Democrats of Philippine and Chinese descent because that's exactly the type of mistake that Premier Clark would feast upon.
Today, she's probably licking her chops.
Comments
12 Comments
Gypsy
Dec 21, 2014 at 3:54pm
What an exciting opportunity for renewal. This is exactly what the BC NDP needs, a safe area to run a new, exciting, fresh face.
Charlie, your take is so wrong it hurts.
Mike
Dec 21, 2014 at 5:20pm
Well then in the spirit of togetherness, maybe the nomination should go to new blood, Sharon Gregson. If Mulcair is featuring a plan for child care, she is BC's expert.
Gladwin
Dec 21, 2014 at 6:49pm
So what happens if either one of them wins the nomination? The taxpayers are stuck with an expensive by-election caused by vanity. Have either one of these people thought about that? Who then would replace ELmore or Kwan in a by-election?
Adam T
Dec 21, 2014 at 9:36pm
"The fact that James's deputy may run against Kwan for the Vancouver East nomination suggests that there's still a desire to crush the one NDP MLA who publicly called for James to step down in 2010."
Of course, Charlie that has to be why. It couldn't be because, you know, maybe Mable also wants to be an M.P.
Charlie, I believe your tin foil hat is blocking off the oxygen to your brain.
Inclusivity
Dec 22, 2014 at 7:31am
"Elmore's departure would hamper the provincial party's appeal not only to Filipino Canadians, but also to the LGBT community...."
I despise this type of ideology - where a politician is judged by their race or sexual orientation. Is the Filipino and/or LGBT community that shallow that they'll only vote for one of their own? I don't think so and the sooner we stop encouraging this bigoted way of thinking, the better.
Adam T
Dec 22, 2014 at 11:21am
Just to comment more on how truly stupid this column is:
1."If Vancouver-Kensington MLA Mable Elmore runs against Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA Jenny Kwan, it will create an appearance of people wanting to flee the B.C. NDP caucus"
A.A Federal seat came open. For some reason Federal politics is seen as more prestigious than provincial politics (and M.P jobs also pay better than MLA jobs). A couple MLAs wanting to leave to become an MP will be seen as nothing more than that, a couple MLAs wanting a once in a generation chance to become an MP.
B.Whatever very slight negative there is for the NDP would be more than offset by the likely at least half dozen candidates running for the party's nomination in a byelection for a once in a generation chance to become a Vancouver east end MLA.
C.The NDP will likely be more hurt on this in 2016/2017 as there is a good chance a number of incumbents will not run again as over half of the NDP caucus was first elected in 2005 or earlier. 12 years is a long time in politics.
2."Horgan has likely added fuel to the fire by giving Elmore and Kwan minor-league critic portfolios in comparison to his less-experienced MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey, David Eby."
"For his part, Horgan gave Kwan an even lower-profile role than Elmore in the shadow cabinet. After 17 years in the legislature, Kwan was reduced to being critic for Community Development B.C.
In the meantime, the leader's pet, Eby, is critic for tourism, housing, liquor policy, the B.C. Lottery Corporation, B.C. Pavilion Corporation, Destination B.C., and the Liquor Distribution Branch."
A.Jenny Kwan has held senior critic roles in the past. She was demoted after the Portland Hotel Society scandal. BTW, the role is called "Community Living B.C"
B.Eby is a highly respected law professor and Executive Director of the BCCLA and is has been ranked by Horgan as one of his top five MLAs. Good for Horgan for not being concerned about seniority. Beyond that, I'm not sure that he is actually that senior a critic. Other than Housing, which is of, course course, important to New Democrats, his other critic roles are pretty minor.
3."It would be hard for Elmore or Kwan to say they're truly interested in provincial issues after publicly announcing a willingness to abandon ship for federal politics."
A.I'm not sure the public sees much of a distinction between the two.
Lance
Dec 22, 2014 at 2:04pm
Better than winning the lottery becoming a Federal MP....they will be at each other's throats.
Save Vancouver
Dec 22, 2014 at 10:14pm
Oh please, Elmore has a tough battle to woo Filipino Canadians to woo them BC NDP? Many are already part of the health care unions, whose support for the NDP is a given. As for Horgan, he'd probably be relieved to see a backstabber like Kwan shipped off to Ottawa.
Grant
Dec 23, 2014 at 11:03am
The whole point missed is that federal politics is easier than provincial. Ottawa is a distant place where decisions are made that rarely effect locals and issues rarely resonate with people in B.C. A politicians longevity is more likely. If for some reason you are being "punished" at the party provincial level for some pettiness in exercising your democratic rights, why would someone not prefer to get out into another arena. Looking for ulterior and obscure motives is silly. It is common sense.
RUK
Dec 23, 2014 at 1:03pm
Why wouldn't Eby be the leader's pet? He beat Clark in her riding, he has a pretty high profile background with human rights (a field that gives one a broad exposure to many industries and government bodies), and he can claim that he has a certain amount of small business experience as one of the founders of Pivot Legal. Since Gregor doesn't seem to want it, Eby is an obvious candidate to be the face of the BC NDP in the event that we ever actually decide we should try to win an election.
If Jenny Kwan, bless her heart, had charisma or speaking ability, I think we would have known it by now. I think that the Portland Hotel thing would be successfully used against her if she was going to run for Premier anyway. She's stalled out at the provincial level. As an MP though I think she would be in a position to advocate at the fed level for more investment in the DTES and Vancouver generally.
@Inclusivity
I agree with you that eye shape and bedroom preference has nothing rationally in common with performance as an executive, but tribal politics is still a thing in Canada. Look at how some Sikhs have apparently decided that they must all abandon the Liberal Party because one of theirs didn't get the nom. It's gross but it's real. Charlie is pointing out something that exists, not, I don't think, endorsing the irrationality.