New Vancouver councillor Hector Bremner will be sworn in today in wake of Vision Vancouver by-election horror

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      Halloween seems like an appropriate day to swear in the newest member of Vancouver city council.

      That's because ruling Vision Vancouver probably had the fright of its life in a recent council by-election, in which its candidate came fifth.

      Today, Hector Bremner will become the fourth NPA member of council, breathing new life into what was, a generation ago, Vancouver's natural governing party.

      Meanwhile, Mayor Gregor Robertson's team was dealt a double blow this month when one of its most effective councillors, Andrea Reimer, announced that she won't seek reelection.

      Vision's house of horrors has also manifested itself in the school board by-election.

      Three Green candidates topped the polls, demonstrating that this brand had far more appeal in an arena where the ghosts of Vision previously enjoyed tremendous success.

      What's worse for Vision is that its older hobgoglins were elected to the school board and its one hope for the future, Theodora Lamb, was nipped at the finish, coming eighth.

      The current roster of Vision members of council, school board, and park board members is notably missing any millennials. It's a spooky situation, one that hardly suggests that this party is on the verge of renewal.

      Then again, according to Eastern European folklore, vampires manage to retain their vitality by sneaking out of their graves at night to drink the blood of those who are living.

      It's an apt Halloween metaphor for what Vision politicians might want to consider to have any hope of retaining power after the 2018 election.

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