Adriane Carr prepares to bring Green party voice to Vancouver city council

by Yolande Cole on November 24th, 2011 at 5:08 PM

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Adriane Carr calls her win in the Vancouver civic election last weekend a “victory for democracy”.

On a budget of about $15,000, the Green candidate managed to secure a city council seat, narrowly beating out COPE councillor Ellen Woodsworth by 91 votes. The win marks the first city council spot for the Green party in Vancouver.

“We did not have a big campaign budget nor a huge machine like the other parties,” Carr told the Straight in a phone interview today (November 24).

“It’s exciting to me to think that you don’t need to have that kind of budget to win.”

Carr also concedes that her win was the culmination of seven previous election campaigns at various political levels, including her latest bid in the federal election in March.

“What I counted on, and I think what also came into play, was that this was the culmination of many campaigns,” she said. “So my name has been out there, people have seen me in the public eye, so I believe that the raising of my profile over so many years contributed to my success this time.”

A few days after the suspenseful election night, which she said had people in her campaign office pacing around and biting their nails, Carr still sounds elated with the victory.

“After almost 30 years of working in Green politics, and running in seven elections, well this was my eighth, the joy was truly just unbelievable,” she said.

The councillor-elect is now turning her focus to her agenda for the next term. Carr said after transitioning from her role as deputy leader of the Green Party of Canada, she plans to sit down with other elected councillors.

“I want to make sure that when I put forward a motion that I have some trust that there would be a seconder,” she noted.

All of the Vision Vancouver councillors on the ballot were elected, giving the party its second majority. Carr and NPA candidates George Affleck and Elizabeth Ball were the only non-Vision names to make it on council.

But Carr doesn’t seem concerned about getting her message out as one of three opposition councillors.

“I’m optimistic because I think that Vision recognizes that I was elected by the citizens, in part because I believe that the citizens trust that I’m well-positioned to monitor what’s going on at the council table, and certainly in particular monitor progress on the greenest city plans,” she said.

“So I don’t expect that they will ignore what I have to say. I think they’re going to be open to what I have to say.”

Carr noted she was disappointed at the loss of Green park commissioner Stuart Mackinnon.

“I think he stood up as the lone voice on a number of issues and in line with the public interest, for example against budget shortfalls that would have closed the Bloedel Conservatory, or public washrooms,” she said. “These are issues that people really were grateful to him for raising.”

Carr said her agenda for the upcoming term includes a focus on affordable housing, transit, and “development rights”.

“I think there’s some big issues to tackle – those issues have to do with getting development rights, because citizens are upset with the way the development process and rezoning process has worked,” she noted. “Enough so that a whole new party came to rise in this election, Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver.”

Carr was one of six council candidates recommended by the partial Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver slate leading up to the election.

The inaugural city council meeting of the new term will take place on December 5.

Comments

7 Comments

sleepswithangels

Nov 24, 2011 at 5:59pm

I don't concur. I think this was a failure of democracy. Too many voters are uninformed and voted for Carr simply because of name recognition and her sex or in a mistaken belief that the Green Party ISN'T closely aligned with right wing interests. A typical voter for this raging narcissist would have echoed the same sentiment as a Carr voter did in a local paper earlier this week.

"I like your silver hair. It's so pretty"

Meanwhile...back on earth Ellen Woodsworth will be sorely missed on council.
SMBs

Carey Campbell

Nov 24, 2011 at 8:08pm

Congrats! Another great Green Party victory!

The positive tide of the Green New Deal is with us.

Thanks for the inspiring story.

ricky

Nov 24, 2011 at 9:48pm

I'm looking forward to Adriane on council. Robertson has done a decent job on bike lanes but has been a disappointment on addressing transit noise and emissions - too controversial and troublesome.

Reimer, Robertson's go to person on the environment and a former Green, capitulated with TransLink on the loss of trolley buses on Cambie Street. When a SkyTrain goes in there is big increase in noise from all the added diesel buses and it is too much for people Cambie Street: the COV allowed TransLink to replace the trollies and it is hard for the COV to sack itself.

Adriane is a true blue Green and it will interesting to see how she manages TransLink noise issues and the issue of carbon emissions when TransLink operates diesel buses on trolley bus routes. Very interesting, she isn't going to give people the run around like the Visionairs, I bet.

canadianveggie

Nov 24, 2011 at 10:26pm

I voted for Carr, but didn't expect her to take up the mantle of 'opposition councillor'. No one votes for an opposition candidate. Maybe she's confused - this isn't parliament. I voted for her so she could champion green issues, and especially work on Vancouver's Greenest City initiative.

City Observer

Nov 25, 2011 at 12:04am

At the various all-candidates meeting held around town during the election period it was clearly obvious that, as Adriane consistently received the most applause for the statements she made, that Vancouver was in the midst of a love affair with Ms. Carr.

Adriane Carr was elected to Council because she enunciated a compassionate vision for our City going forward, because she spoke in a manner that indicated both that she understood the issues and that she could communicate with her public in a way that was compelling and authentic. Adriane Carr, along with COPE's Tim Louis, were consistently the most well-received speakers at all-candidates meetings, and possessed the greatest command of the complex issues that Council will face over the next three years. I for one am willing to hold off judgement for now.

Mrs MacDonald

Nov 27, 2011 at 11:38am

While I voted for Adriane Carr, I also voted for Ellen Woodsworth. In the next 3 years, we will know if the cost sustained to getting a Green councillor elected was worth it. That cost is, of course, the loss of hard-working Ellen Woodsworth. Some concerns I have about Adriane, at this time: 1. Assuming she was elected because of name recognition. 2. Coming across as if her mandate is to be an "opposition councillor," as someone pointed out above. My message to Adriane: I voted for you because I want to see Green representation at all levels of govenrment! I did not vote for you to go in and hold Vision accountable (I do that at the polling station and throughout the term by engaging with the councillors, as needed). You have said yourself that, if elected, you would work WITH whoever else got elected. I expect you to do just that, without partisan rhetoric! This is City Hall, not Parliament!