VISION and COPE STRIKE BACKROOM DEAL

Oldtown News
Vancouver, BC

VISION and COPE STRIKE BACKROOM DEAL

Yet another backroom deal has happened in politics, this time at the Vancouver municipal level with executives of both Vision and COPE striking a deal which amounts to a blow to democracy.

Any time members are shut out from the democratic process, which they have been with this Vision/COPE merger and previously with NPA backroom boys shutting down the candidacy of this writer, this strips away members power and ultimately the citizens lose badly.

Having hand-picked power brokers who are neither accountable or transparent making decisions in the back room is leading us along a path which leads to the demise of democracy.

Longtime COPE elected official and executive on the COPE board, Tim Louis, regarding the merger of his party states, "Vision has not given up anything as they intended from day one to run eight candidates for Council. The COPE capitulation committee did what I predicted it would do".

The municipal Green party led by Ben West also appears to have capitulated to backroom politics. The message relayed to their members is that it's OK to settle for one seat at the table.

The Greens have been increasing their vote and had made significant inroads at the municipal level having elected a Green Park Commissioner, Roslyn Cassells and a Green party School Trustee, Andrea Reimer.

Now they are settling for the minuscule crumbs left at the table. Thank Stuart MacKinnon and Andrea Reimer for that one.

I think the citizens are way smarter than these municipal parties think they are and they will not be duped. They will push back and push back hard.

All Vancouver municipal parties now have usurped member rights and in turn snubbed their noses at democracy.

Shame on them!

Jamie Lee Hamilton
tricia_foxx@yahoo.com