Thank you for taking the time to visit my campaign website for the mayoral nomination of the NPA.
If I win the NPA nomination and defeat Gregor Robertson, I plan on only serving one-term as Mayor of Vancouver, as I wish to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations in January 2017.
And if I was to become the next Secretary-General, it means I either step down before the end of my term, try to do both jobs, or the Deputy Secretary-General would have to run the day-to-day operations at the UN until October.
I am socially progressive and fiscally conservative, but am an independent at heart. In Ottawa, MPs are expected to represent their ridings, yet are told by the party to obey the party leader. There's no point in electing an MP, if they do whatever the party leader says. Party leaders might just as well run in every riding then.
People want their MPs/MLAs to listen to their constituency, yet want to keep the party system, and the party system is about the party, not the people. Don't you think it's interesting how you always hear people in a political party say: what's in the best interest of the party, and not what's in the best interest of the people?
Anyways, because I am an independent at heart, the people come first in my book, then the party's interests. As for better representation for the people, the party system should work like this: MPs/MLAs are bound to vote for the party platform, but anything not on the party platform must be a free-vote.
So if elected mayor, NPA councillors would be bound to support my platform, but any issue that wasn't on my platform would be an automatic free-vote.
I have never voted slate in my life, and I feel most people in Vancouver do not vote slate either, unless they are looking to punish a party or drink the Kool-Aid. So that is why I don't believe the NPA should run a full slate and instead, work with the Vancouver Green Party in a coalition for the 2014 election against Vision Vancouver and COPE.
You'll hear people like Peter Armstrong speak about sweeping the 2014 election, and while that is nice party propaganda, that is all it is, party propaganda. The NPA will not be sweeping the 2014 election. Why? Because the conditions have changed.
In the past, Conservatives, Liberals and independents voted NPA because the party governed the city well, the fact that most people seem to fear change, and their only other choice was COPE.
The Jennifer Clarke coup, with Larry Campbell leading COPE which later lead to Vision, has changed things forever. Vision is not COPE, and even if it was, perception is reality, and Vision doesn't come off as COPE.
And speaking of perception, the NPA has a perception of being an old, angry white political party. When Peter Ladner was running for mayor, Vision and COPE were acting like if Peter Lander becomes mayor, Vancouver will head back to the 1950s.
So that is why I want to put forward a motion to the membership on cooperation with the Vancouver Green Party for the 2014 municipal election, because not only will the NPA not be able to sweep city hall, but a coalition with the Green Party will help rebuild the NPA's perception as an old, angry white political party.
I'm thinking the NPA would run a mayoral candidate, with 7 NPA candidates for council, leaving 3 spots for the Greens. Green councillor Adriane Carr and NPA councillors George Affleck and Elizabeth Ball already have a good working relationship, so I don't see why for just the next election, we can't take it a little further to beat the Vision-COPE alliance.
If I win the NPA nomination and defeat Gregor Robertson, I plan on only serving one-term as Mayor of Vancouver, as I wish to become the next Secretary-General of the United Nations in January 2017.
And if I was to become the next Secretary-General, it means I either step down before the end of my term, try to do both jobs, or the Deputy Secretary-General would have to run the day-to-day operations at the UN until October.
I am socially progressive and fiscally conservative, but am an independent at heart. In Ottawa, MPs are expected to represent their ridings, yet are told by the party to obey the party leader. There's no point in electing an MP, if they do whatever the party leader says. Party leaders might just as well run in every riding then.
People want their MPs/MLAs to listen to their constituency, yet want to keep the party system, and the party system is about the party, not the people. Don't you think it's interesting how you always hear people in a political party say: what's in the best interest of the party, and not what's in the best interest of the people?
Anyways, because I am an independent at heart, the people come first in my book, then the party's interests. As for better representation for the people, the party system should work like this: MPs/MLAs are bound to vote for the party platform, but anything not on the party platform must be a free-vote.
So if elected mayor, NPA councillors would be bound to support my platform, but any issue that wasn't on my platform would be an automatic free-vote.
I have never voted slate in my life, and I feel most people in Vancouver do not vote slate either, unless they are looking to punish a party or drink the Kool-Aid. So that is why I don't believe the NPA should run a full slate and instead, work with the Vancouver Green Party in a coalition for the 2014 election against Vision Vancouver and COPE.
You'll hear people like Peter Armstrong speak about sweeping the 2014 election, and while that is nice party propaganda, that is all it is, party propaganda. The NPA will not be sweeping the 2014 election. Why? Because the conditions have changed.
In the past, Conservatives, Liberals and independents voted NPA because the party governed the city well, the fact that most people seem to fear change, and their only other choice was COPE.
The Jennifer Clarke coup, with Larry Campbell leading COPE which later lead to Vision, has changed things forever. Vision is not COPE, and even if it was, perception is reality, and Vision doesn't come off as COPE.
And speaking of perception, the NPA has a perception of being an old, angry white political party. When Peter Ladner was running for mayor, Vision and COPE were acting like if Peter Lander becomes mayor, Vancouver will head back to the 1950s.
So that is why I want to put forward a motion to the membership on cooperation with the Vancouver Green Party for the 2014 municipal election, because not only will the NPA not be able to sweep city hall, but a coalition with the Green Party will help rebuild the NPA's perception as an old, angry white political party.
I'm thinking the NPA would run a mayoral candidate, with 7 NPA candidates for council, leaving 3 spots for the Greens. Green councillor Adriane Carr and NPA councillors George Affleck and Elizabeth Ball already have a good working relationship, so I don't see why for just the next election, we can't take it a little further to beat the Vision-COPE alliance.
