Login / RegisterGregor Robertson reelected to second term as Vancouver mayor with majority Vision council
Mayor Gregor Robertson and his Vision Vancouver party were elected to a second majority term Saturday, winning seven seats on council, five on park board and five on school board.
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Robertson took to the stage just before 11 p.m. to a cheering room of supporters at the Sheraton Wall Centre in downtown Vancouver. The mayor was joined by his team of Vision candidates, all of whom were elected, including current city councillors Raymond Louie, Kerry Jang, Heather Deal, Andrea Reimer, Tim Stevenson, and Geoff Meggs, and new council candidate Tony Tang.
“Tonight we celebrate a hard-fought victory,” Robertson told the crowd. “Tomorrow we get back to work.”
Robertson's speech included acknowledgement of outgoing Coalition of Progressive Electors candidates Ellen Woodsworth and David Cadman. Allan Wong was the only COPE candidate that was elected, taking a spot on the school board.
"Their service to Vancouver is so valuable and appreciated," he said of the councillors.
Robertson also thanked his opponent Suzanne Anton for her nine years of public service on city council and the park board. Anton, who finished with 58,152 votes, conceded earlier to Robertson, who won 77,005.
The civic election results saw the Non-Partisan Association increase its presence on city council to two spots, with Elizabeth Ball and George Affleck elected. The party also won two seats on the park board, with Melissa De Genova and John Coupar elected as commissioners. Three NPA candidates were elected to school board.
Polling results Saturday night showed the Green party’s Adriane Carr was elected to the tenth city council spot.
Robertson told reporters after his speech that during the next term, he wants to "focus more on community engagement" and "working with neighbourhoods".
"The city is growing, we've got a lot of pressure to grow and develop," he said. "Our economy is strong. We've got to do that very carefully and thoughtfully and working better with our neighbourhoods."
The election featured a new group on the ballot, Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver, which campaigned on a platform of neighbourhood-based planning and campaign-finance reform. Council candidate Elizabeth Murphy led the group's slate with 19,644 votes.
According to the City of Vancouver, this year's voter turnout is estimated at about 35 percent, up from 31 percent in the 2008 civic election.
How shall I put this?
*oyeah* Better luck next time.
Beating Anton by nearly 20,000 votes.
I guess we won't be getting that streetcar! LOL!
Randy Helten finished with just over 4000 votes.
What's wrong with giving the people what they want? Why should we be forced to take a car to go shopping? What's wrong with having more options?
From the viewpoint of a suburb it can appear that some of the decisions made in Vancouver look odd but from the viewpoint of someone actually living here they make total sense and are welcome.
While one can criticize the process, I'm glad that we now have a taste of separated bike lanes so that we can see how they work and see how good and useful they are. It's been over a year and all the bad things that were said would happen have not come true.
However, there is room for and there should be an opposition as a check and balance to Vision. Having said this, Anton and the NPA aren't it.
In the end, Anton was like an old chicken that wouldn't go away. She'd constantly cackle about everything Robertson did, not for the good of the public but for her own ends. The attack ads were cheap. And using occupy for a political one night stand was cheaper. They need a new face and voice as well as politically re-oriented thinking if they are to survive.
Just got back from jogging over Burrard St, bridge: hundreds of cars, maybe seventy people on foot and three, counted them, *three* cyclists (north and southbound). Just saying.
The fact is ALL Politicians suck & are beholden to whatever their special interest(s) are.
Homelessness is up, warehousing people in these filthy shelters is not ending anything,sex crimes against women are up 21%, taxes are up 4%, gangs are flourishing, city staff are under a gag order and very morale is very low, the city has cut services, we owe over $600,000,000 in O village debt, we have taken loses of over 30% to 50% on the sales of O VIllage apts, violence against women including rape is up, treatment for the homeless the mentally ill and addicted is inadequate, and property and housing is unattainable here for most. Out police force is over worked and poorly deployed as Vision has not expanded the numbers last fiscal year, we have a dictator as the city manager Gregor and Vision hired, neighbourhoods are being ruined with the towers Vision has approved,
We have a 40% of our kids living under the poverty line and in Vancouver we have the most use of the food bank in Canada.Our water quality is so poor thousands use bottled water. We have no city wide plan. In three years this bunch has done nothing on these issues.
So, you slagasses, just because Vision and Greogor bought the election with over $2mil and just because a small number of Vancouver voters bought his lies and spin, and just because he had no real challenger in Anton, does not make him fit to be mayor. It means he was the only one of two poor candidates that had the cash to buy you fool's votes.
His win was as much against the NPA as it was in favour of him and his cohorts. I fear for the next three years.