Civic watchdogs say the upcoming election is the most important in Vancouver’s history.

Credit: J.C.

Nomination race slips under radar of many voters

Though elected city officials have fled to the meeting-free wilds of their annual summer breaks this month, anyone involved in Vancouver civic life will assure you that the wheels of democracy continue to turn — and, at times, spin in the mud — throughout August.

The nomination race has been in full swing all month, and the last-minute push to churn out the final rosters of municipal hopefuls and the party members who will vote them into candidacy has kept Vancouver’s civic players on their toes.

Despite the fact that nomination races slip under the radar of many Vancouverites, SFU political scientist Kennedy Stewart says this process is often more crucial than the actual election. “This is when contestants and election platforms are decided by a handful of party members,” he says. “Joining a party can be intimidating for most citizens, as internal party politics can often be nasty, but becoming a member is the best way to affect what will happen in your city over the next three years.”

Stewart likens the nomination process to catering a dinner party: “Voters may pick the courses, but party members select the menu.”

Similar to the mayoral nomination contest in the spring, the results of the party nomination race will paint a telling portrait of where civic interest stands, on the cusp of what some call the most important election in Vancouver’s history. Indeed, the November 15 election will show who will sit at the helm of the municipal-politics train when the Olympics come to town. “The upcoming nomination races will almost entirely decide the November results,” says Stewart. “If COPE and Vision do not cooperate, they will split the left-of-centre votes and the NPA will win. The decisions made by the COPE and Vision executives over the next few weeks will largely decide what happens in November.”

Vision Vancouver and COPE will finish their closed-door negotiations — to unify or not to unify — “as soon as possible,” according to COPE organizer Rachel Marcuse. COPE now boasts about 1,000 active party members, with 3,000 to 4,000 ‘lapsed’ members and supporters who remain on its e-mail list. There are currently 15 people who have publicly declared their nomination bid for school board, park board, and council positions. The COPE nomination meeting takes place Saturday, September 28.

Meanwhile, Vision Vancouver, the newest centre-left political party in the race formed by former COPE members in 2002, is enjoying a glut of 13,623 members, according to the last confirmed count from the June mayoral nomination meeting. Vision Vancouver spokesperson Kevin Quinlan estimates that numbers will increase to a little more than 14,000 by the time the September nomination meeting rolls around.

Vision’s high membership numbers are reflected in the extensive and motley list of people who have publicly announced their bid for municipal candidacy with the party. At press time, 27 people had thrown their hats in the ring, with five more potential candidates in the wings. The Vision Vancouver nomination meeting takes place Saturday, September 20.

Despite the public brouhaha Vision has spun by virtue of its high membership, Stewart warns that the NPA running fewer candidates could work in its favour. “There is definitely power in lower numbers... as it allows plumping during the election,” he says, adding that less choice will densify votes. “The party that plumps gains statistical advantage in the election.”

According to NPA president Ned Pottinger, approximately 5,000 Vancouverites are signed up as NPA members. Thirteen people have made official announcements to run for municipal nominations next month, and there are more to come. “We have more than a full slate of candidates for all positions in the wings,” says Pottinger. The NPA nomination meeting is scheduled for Saturday, September 13.

The deciding factor for all this work will come down to votes cast at the party nomination meetings next month. To Lyndsay Poaps, it’s essential. She’s a founding member of youth voter initiative Check Your Head, as well as democratic spaces coordinator for the Vancouver Public Space Network. “Like any election, there has to be the work done to mobilize voters,” she says of the nomination race. “It’s very important for nomination meetings to have high turnouts. High turnout at those meetings shows how reflective [parties] are of Vancouverites.”