Great excitement this week when Mike Howell at the Vancouver Courier was first up to publish news about the rumours that former Vancouver Sun editor, former CBC ombudsman Kirk LaPointe is being considered by the NPA as a mayoral candidate.
Mike actually got a live interview with LaPointe that confirmed there’s some kind of negotiation going on (LaPointe also told me by email “it’s still a process” and nothing else to say at the moment). Mike also got a confirmation from developer Rob Macdonald that he had decided not to run, in part because of his health, in part because he felt like he’d be opening up himself and his party to a major assault by Vision Vancouver. (He’s right on that one.)
I hear elsewhere that the potential mayoral candidates are meeting with party board members sometime this week. There are apparently two or three other possible candidates, but no word yet on who they are. NOT current NPA councillor George Affleck, I’m hearing, who is going to carry on at the councillor level.
Here in the journalism world, of course, people are agog about the idea of LaPointe (one of our OWN) running, though I suspect some uncertainty about what he would be like in this new role. He’s spent his whole life, since teenagehood, in the world of journalism. And, typical of many journalists, LaPointe was always hugely interested in the drama of politics but never demonstrated any particular political leanings one way or the other, at least not any that were visible in the newsroom.
We await further developments.
22 responses so far ↓
1 Roger Kemble // May 30, 2014 at 4:48 am
Oh no pulezzzze! Does anyone really thinq a pretty face makes any difference?
Thinq Mao, “change comes out of the barrel of a gun.
2 teririch // May 30, 2014 at 7:46 am
@Roger Kemble #1
Are you referring to the current Mayor?
3 Roger Kemble // May 30, 2014 at 7:59 am
Well Teri</ I would hardly call the now, errrr, older (et tu Brutus) La Point a pretty face but yeah Gregor and all that genre aspiring politicos who claim to have the key to the Pandora’s box of a now aging and failing economic/politico system . . .
PS Call me in 200 years. I’ll know better then! In the meantime watch the colours fade . . .
4 Roger Kemble // May 30, 2014 at 8:04 am
Jeezless Frances
Am I the only one with failing eye sight!
Can’t you install a pre-post edit function?
Other than that you are perfect . . .
5 Roger Kemble // May 30, 2014 at 8:28 am
The average age of the world’s greatest civilizations from the beginning of history has been about 200 years.
During those 200 years, these nations always progressed through the following sequence:
1) From bondage to spiritual faith.
2) From spiritual faith to great courage.
3) From courage to liberty.
4) From liberty to abundance.
5) From abundance to complacency.
6) From complacency to apathy.
7) From apathy to dependence.
8) From dependence back into bondage.
Alexander Tyler
I’d say we are at about 6).
6 Richard // May 30, 2014 at 11:11 am
@Roger Kemble
Fatalism is just an excuse to do nothing. It is much easier giving up on the future than to do the hard work implementing solutions that will make it a better place.
7 Roger Kemble // May 30, 2014 at 11:15 am
Agree Richard @ #6: now do something about it.
As for my efforts. Spend a bit of time googling, you’ll find plenty . . .
8 brilliant // May 30, 2014 at 1:58 pm
Its interesting that someone who is involved Im media wants to topple Mayor Moonbeam, journos see better than most the arrogance of the Vision gang.
9 teririch // May 30, 2014 at 2:34 pm
Charlie Smith of the Straight take on it:
http://www.straight.com/news/655081/kirk-lapointe-could-hold-his-own-npa-mayoral-candidate-vancouver
10 Chris Keam // May 30, 2014 at 4:42 pm
“journos see better than most the arrogance of the Vision gang.”
LOL. I thought the problem was the media wasn’t hard enough on the Mayor and his Minions.
Must be last week’s talking points. 🙂
11 teririch // May 31, 2014 at 10:38 am
@Chris Keam #10
Or, it could be speaking to the access issues of the Mayor and Councillors many are now encountering, including Frances who has mentioned it from time to time.
12 chow // May 31, 2014 at 4:40 pm
While we have Charlie Smith’s take on Lapointe (which was interesting); here is Stephen Quinn’s take on the NPA and its long check of potential candidates: (parody but with more than a dollop of truth) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/survey-says-80-points-for-being-livid/article18935979/#dashboard/follows/
13 Everyman // May 31, 2014 at 6:44 pm
To be honest, I’d never heard of him. It would seem to me the NPA could use a bigger name at the top of the ticket.
14 Terry M // Jun 1, 2014 at 6:52 pm
Who would want to inherit the legacy of the worst mayor of Vancouver in recent memory? Interesting is the fact that Robertson doesn’t see the joke’s on him. The arrogance and lack of self assessment of this incompetent is quite remarkable. IKEA monkey anyone?
15 Everyman // Jun 2, 2014 at 8:10 am
@teririch and chow
I found Charlie Smith’s piece useful, but not Quinn’s. Given his background you would think LaPointe would find the Green Party a more suitable mayoral vehicle. It wasn’t quite clear to me from previous coverage if the Greens did not want to run a mayoral candidate or could not find one.
16 spartikus // Jun 2, 2014 at 8:17 am
I think the key question for Kirk Lapointe or any future NPA mayoral candidate to ask themselves is whether they will be allowed to run on a platform of their own devising or if they are simply being asked to be the frontman for Armstrong & MacDonald. The latter of whom has such strong right-wing views he feels the provincial NDP is “a mixed bag of Marxist, Leninists, Trotskyites, Maoists and Castroites.”
Perhaps Kirk Lapointe, unlike the Sean Bickertons and Dave Pasins, will be comfortable keeping his mouth shut and standing beside someone dressed in a chicken suit.
But somehow I think not.
17 spartikus // Jun 2, 2014 at 8:26 am
you would think LaPointe would find the Green Party a more suitable mayoral vehicle
In Mike Howelling’s article, Lapointe say’s “quite a few people” are interested in his candidacy. These may all be NPA people. But then again, maybe not.
18 teririch // Jun 2, 2014 at 8:34 am
@spartikus #16:
That same question could be asked of Mayor Robertson – as he seems be the ‘frontman’ of Magee and Solomon’s wants.
19 teririch // Jun 2, 2014 at 8:35 am
@Everyman #15:
I found Quinn’s article hilarious.
A direct jabb at Robertson and Vision.
20 F.H.Leghorn // Jun 2, 2014 at 11:17 am
Quinn’s piece cuts both ways. The Mayor is, after all, a white man and his name indicates a British heritage, not to mention the income brackets.
Suggested slogan for the Not Particularly Attractive party: Vancouver needs Robertson like a backyard chicken needs a bicycle.
The striking thing about Quinn’s little questionnaire is the fact that he took enough time out from giving Jim Iker unlimited air-time to write it. Mind you, CBC employees are all union members, though I think the Harperites may have fired all the remaining “Marxist, Leninists, Trotskyites, Maoists and Castroites”.
Of course very few Communists make over $100K/yr like NDP MLAs.
21 IanS // Jun 2, 2014 at 1:03 pm
Not sure if this is the best place for this, but, if anyone’s interested, here are the reasons in WEN v. Vancouver:
http://www.courts.gov.bc.ca/jdb-txt/SC/14/09/2014BCSC0965.htm
22 teririch // Jun 3, 2014 at 1:35 pm
http://www.vancouversun.com/Vancouver+keeping+mayoral+candidate+name+secret+more+weeks/9903791/story.html