Straight Talk

Non-Partisan Associa­tion skips nomination process, plans candidate announcement

by Carlito Pablo on April 23rd, 2014 at 11:47 AM
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      Nomination contests often energize electoral parties. Sign-ups, debates, and the excitement of the race fire up members.

      Vancouver’s Non-Partisan Associa­tion seems to be skipping this course with its plan to announce on May 7 some of its candidates in the fall civic election.

      As of April 22, the centre-right party had made no announcement on its website that it is calling members to a nomination meeting before the May event.

      It’s not that it’s always been averse to the idea of nominations. In 2008, then incumbent NPA mayor Sam Sullivan was challenged and subsequently defeated in a stunning upset by then councillor Peter Ladner.

      It might be an indication that the once-dominant NPA is no longer an attractive vehicle for those who want to get involved in municipal affairs. It has been out of power since 2008, having lost two elections in a row to Vision Vancouver.

      NPA councillor George Affleck claims that, on the contrary, there are “a lot of people who want to run” with his party. “We are dealing with many people who are interested,” Affleck told the Straight by phone.

      Affleck said a committee is talking with prospective candidates and that he has already been interviewed by this panel. He referred further questions to NPA executive coordinator Natasha Westover, who didn’t make herself available for an interview before deadline.

      As of April 21, long-time NPA education trustee Ken Denike hadn’t been interviewed by the candidate-selection committee, which, he said, is headed by party president Peter Armstrong.

      “They’re going through sort of a green-light procedure,” Denike told the Straight in a phone interview. He noted that the NPA bylaws allow the designation of candidates without a nomination process. According to him, party leaders apparently want some candidates named to “start working on the election” and “get it rolling”.

      In the lead-up to the 2011 civic election, the NPA held its nomination meeting in June and selected its mayoral candidate and most of its bets for council, school board, and park board.

      Comments

      2 Comments

      Bruce

      Apr 23, 2014 at 12:05pm

      It seems Adrian Carr's greens and the NPA have something in common.

      Mike

      Apr 23, 2014 at 2:33pm

      My understanding is that they are having a really, really difficult time recruiting candidates.

      The backroom guys understand that Affleck is not marketable, but as of right now, he is the only choice they have. They hope to attract some new candidates with a splashy announcement on May 7.

      I can recall a time not that long ago that people used to fight hard for this prize. Now, no one wants to go near this toxic political organization.