Vision Vancouver

Last updated

Vision Vancouver
Active municipal party
ChairDiego Cardona
Founded2005 (2005)
Split from Coalition of Progressive Electors
Ideology Green liberalism
Political position Centre to centre-left
ColoursBlue, green
City council
0 / 11
Park board
0 / 7
School board
0 / 9
Website
www.votevision.ca

Vision Vancouver is a green liberal municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vision was formed in the months leading up to the 2005 municipal election.

Contents

Formation

Vision was founded by former Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) members first elected to Vancouver City Council in 2002. Following that election, Mayor Larry Campbell and Councillors Jim Green, Raymond Louie and Tim Stevenson were dubbed "COPE Light" by the local media due to their moderate positions on taxation and development, as opposed to the more leftist "COPE Classic" councillors.

Ongoing disagreements between the two factions led to Campbell and his allies forming an independent COPE caucus in December 2004. At the same time, supporters of Campbell and his allies created a fundraising organization independent of COPE called "Friends of Larry Campbell".

This group and its backers eventually formed a new party called "Vision Vancouver", initially to be led by Campbell. However, when Campbell announced that he would not seek a second term as mayor, he called on Jim Green to run to succeed him. The party decided in August 2005 to run only five of a possible ten council candidates and did not contest school board and park board slate elections.

In the November 2005 election for Vancouver City Council, four Vision Vancouver candidates (Raymond Louie, Tim Stevenson, Heather Deal and George Chow) were elected, but the party's mayoral candidate, Jim Green, was defeated by the Non-Partisan Association's (NPA) Sam Sullivan. Six members of the Non-Partisan Association were elected along with one for COPE.

In power (2008–2018)

For the November 2008 election, Vision was seen as a serious contender for control of the city due to the perceived unpopularity of the Sam Sullivan's NPA team.[ by whom? ] In June 2008, Vision held an election to nominate their mayoral candidate. The choices were Gregor Robertson (a local "green" businessman, owner of the Happy Planet juice company and a provincial New Democratic Party member of the Legislative Assembly for Vancouver-Fairview), Raymond Louie (serving as a Vision city councillor), and Allan De Genova (an independent Vancouver Park Board commissioner who defected from the NPA because of his dislike of Sullivan's leadership). The original dynamic for this contest shifted when the NPA voted to change their mayoral candidate, replacing the incumbent Sullivan with longtime councillor and businessman Peter Ladner, the editor of the Business in Vancouver newspaper. Gregor Robertson was nominated to be Vision's mayoral candidate in 2008 despite his perceived similarity to NPA rival Sam Sullivan.

Under the direction of mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson, Vision Vancouver responded to COPE's requests (dating back to a change in leadership at COPE in May 2007) to negotiate an electoral coalition with COPE and the Green Party of Vancouver (who ran joint slates with COPE in previous years). Vision Vancouver, COPE and the Greens agreed to support Gregor Robertson as mayor, avoid running competing slates and coordinate other elements of the election.

On November 15, 2008, Gregor Robertson was elected mayor of Vancouver and the Vision–COPE–Green coalition came to power. The only Vision Vancouver candidate who was not elected was Kashmir Dhalliwal.

In the 2011 Vancouver municipal election, held on November 19, Gregor Robertson was re-elected mayor of Vancouver. All Vision Vancouver candidates were elected.

In the 2014 election, held on November 15, Gregor Robertson was re-elected mayor of Vancouver. The slate also retained its majority on city council, the school board, and the park board. In 2017, Vision lost one seat on council in a by-election to Hector Bremner of the NPA.

Vision ran a slate of candidates in the 2018 election  including Heather Deal, Catherine Evans, Diego Cardona, Tanya Paz and Wei Qiao Zhang for city council. [1] Ian Campbell was intended to be the slate's mayoral candidate, [2] [3] but several days before nominations were due, he withdrew from the race. [4] The election resulted in Vision losing their majority on all three elected bodies and losing all but one race, for a seat on the Vancouver School Board which was held by incumbent Allan Wong. [5]

Electoral results

Mayoral
Election yearCandidateVotes %PositionResult
2005 Jim Green 57,79644.452ndNot elected
2008 Gregor Robertson 67,59854.39Increase2.svg 1stElected
2011 Gregor Robertson77,00553.17Steady2.svg 1stElected
2014 Gregor Robertson83,52945.97Steady2.svg 1stElected
2018 NoneDid not contest
2022 Endorsed Kennedy Stewart (Forward Together)49,59329.48Decrease2.svg 2ndNot elected
Vancouver City Council
ElectionSeats+/–Votes %Change (pp)Position
2005
4 / 11
Increase2.svg 4251,77223.23Steady2.svgOpposition
2008
8 / 11
Increase2.svg 4464,12244.67Increase2.svg 21.44Majority government
2011
8 / 11
Steady2.svg413,86034.36Decrease2.svg 10.31Majority government
2014
7 / 11
Decrease2.svg 1462,38431.82Decrease2.svg 2.54Majority government
2017 [lower-alpha 1]
6 / 11
Decrease2.svg 15,41111.26Decrease2.svg 20.56
2018
0 / 11
Decrease2.svg 6137,7869.84Decrease2.svg 1.42No seats
2022
0 / 11
Steady2.svg33,7662.51Decrease2.svg 7.33No seats

See also

Notes

  1. Due to it being a by-election, voters were only asked to elect one councillor.

Related Research Articles

The Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) is a municipal political party in the Canadian city of Vancouver, British Columbia. It has traditionally been associated with tenants, environmentalists, and the labour movement. COPE is generally guided by democratic socialist principles following the split of its social democratic wing in 2014 to form OneCity Vancouver, and has a long history of advocating for issues such as improving public transit and investing in affordable housing. It last held a majority government on city council from 2002 to 2005. COPE describes itself as being committed to renter protections, ending homelessness, taxing the rich to build social housing, safe supply, free transit, Indigenous reconciliation, climate action, and other social and environmental reforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larry Campbell</span> Canadian politician

Larry W. Campbell is a Canadian politician that served as the 37th mayor of Vancouver, Canada from 2002 until 2005 and since 2005 has been a member of the Senate of Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Non-Partisan Association</span> Municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

The Non-Partisan Association (NPA) is a municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It was established by the city's business leaders in 1937 to challenge the democratic socialist Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) in that year's municipal election. The party has historically been described as centre-right and drawn its strongest support from Vancouver's business community.

Raymond Louie is a Canadian politician. He is a five-term Vancouver City Councillor. Formerly a member of Coalition of Progressive Electors civic party, Louie broke away and was re-elected in 2005, and again in 2008, 2011, and 2014 as a member of Vision Vancouver.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sam Sullivan</span> Canadian politician, Mayor of Vancouver

Sam Sullivan is a Canadian politician who had served as the MLA for Vancouver-False Creek. Previously, he served as the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development with responsibility for Translink in the short-lived BC Liberal government after the 2017 election, as well as the 38th mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and has been invested as a member of the Order of Canada. He is currently President of the Global Civic Policy Society and adjunct professor with the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Green (Canadian politician)</span>

Jim Green was an American-Canadian who was a longshoreman, taxicab driver, community activist, non-profit housing developer, municipal politician, university instructor and development consultant.

Vancouver, unlike other British Columbia municipalities, is incorporated under a unique provincial statute, the Vancouver Charter. The legislation, passed in 1953, supersedes the Vancouver Incorporation Act, 1921 and grants the city more and different powers than other communities possess under BC's Municipalities Act.

The Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) swept the 2002 Vancouver municipal election, winning 8 of 10 Council seats, 7 of 9 School Board seats and 5 of 7 Park Board seats. The Non-Partisan Association (NPA) was reduced to 2 Council seats, 1 School Board seat and 2 Park Board seats. The Green Party of Vancouver won 1 School Board seat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2008 Vancouver municipal election</span>

The 2008 Vancouver municipal election was held on November 15, 2008, filling seats on the Vancouver School Board, the Park Board, the Vancouver City Council, and the position of Mayor of Vancouver. It was held at the same time as municipal elections throughout the province. Three major civic parties were represented: the Coalition of Progressive Electors, the Non-Partisan Association, and Vision Vancouver. The Green Party of Vancouver fielded one candidate for Park Board commissioner.

Andrea Reimer is a Canadian politician, who served on Vancouver, British Columbia's City Council from 2008 to 2018. She was first elected in 2002 to the Vancouver School Board as a Green Party candidate. She was defeated as a Green Party candidate in her re-election campaign in 2005 and then joined the Vision Vancouver party to support Gregor Robertson's mayoral campaign. She subsequently ran for and won a council seat in the 2008 municipal election. After serving four terms on council, she chose not to run for re-election in the 2018 municipal election. She is currently an adjunct professor at the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs at the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University, and served on the UBC Board of Governors as a provincial appointee from December 2019 to October 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vancouver Park Board</span>

The Vancouver Board of Parks and Recreation, commonly referred to as the Vancouver Park Board, is the elected board with exclusive possession, jurisdiction and control over public parks in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Established by section 485 of the Vancouver Charter, the Vancouver Park Board is the only elected body of its kind in Canada. It has seven elected commissioners who are charged by the Vancouver Charter with determining the policy direction of the Park Board. The board has a mandate to "provide, preserve and advocate… to benefit people, communities and the environment". Commissioners are elected at-large every four years, with a chair and vice-chair elected by the commissioners every year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2011 Vancouver municipal election</span>

The City of Vancouver held a municipal election on November 19, 2011, along with other municipalities and regional districts in British Columbia. All local government elections were for a three-year period. The ballot elected one mayor, 10 councillors, nine school board trustees and seven park board commissioners. A $180 million capital borrowing plan was also put to a vote.

Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver (NSV) was a centrist municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada promoting sustainable development. It was consensus-based, run by a steering committee, rather than having an individual as leader, and did not ascribe to an ideology.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Vancouver municipal election</span> Municipal election in British Columbia, Canada

The 2014 Vancouver municipal election took place on November 15, 2014, the same day as other municipalities and regional districts in British Columbia selected their new municipal governments. As with previous elections, voters elected one mayor, 10 councillors, nine school board trustees, and seven park board commissioners through plurality-at-large voting. Voters also voted on whether to approve a capital budget.

Hector Bremner is a Canadian politician, who served as a member of the Vancouver City Council in Vancouver, British Columbia from 2017 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2018 Vancouver municipal election</span> Municipal election in British Columbia, Canada

The 2018 Vancouver municipal election was held on October 20, 2018, the same day as other municipalities and regional districts in British Columbia selected their new municipal governments. Voters elected a mayor, 10 city councillors, 7 park board commissioners, and 9 school board trustees through plurality-at-large voting. Official registration for all candidates opened on September 4, 2018, and closed on September 14, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ian Campbell (Canadian politician)</span>

Ian Campbell is an Indigenous Canadian politician. He is one of many hereditary chiefs, also known as head of family, and an elected councillor of the Squamish Nation. Campbell also serves on the board of MST Development Corporation (MST), a corporate entity which manages real estate properties owned by a partnership between the Musqueam Indian Band, the Squamish Nation, and the Tsleil-Waututh Nation. In 2018, he became the Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate for the 2018 Vancouver municipal election, but withdrew before the election.

The city of Vancouver, Canada, held municipal elections on November 17, 1990. Canadian citizens who were over 18 years of age at the time of the vote, and had been a resident of Vancouver for the previous 30 days and a resident of B.C. for the previous six months, were able to vote for candidates in four races that were presented on one ballot. In addition, Canadian citizen non-resident property owners were eligible to vote. For the first time, the City used Provincial Voters List as basis for City's List of Electors. 133,107 out of 257,352 voters cast ballots for a turnout of 52%.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Vancouver municipal election</span> Vancouver municipal election

The 2022 Vancouver municipal election was held on October 15, 2022, the same day as the municipal elections held throughout British Columbia. Voters elected the mayor of Vancouver, in addition to 10 city councillors, 7 park board commissioners, and 9 school board trustees through plurality-at-large voting. In addition, voters were presented with 3 capital plan questions. A total of 171,494 ballots were cast.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forward Together (Vancouver)</span> Municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Forward Together with Kennedy Stewart is a municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The party is led by Vancouver politician Kennedy Stewart.

References

  1. McElroy, Justin (August 2, 2018). "A Vancouver voter's guide to city council's crowded ballot". CBC News . Retrieved August 31, 2018.
  2. Green, Melanie (May 14, 2018). "Squamish Nation chief enters the mayoral race". StarMetro Vancouver . Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  3. Zeidler, Maryse (May 14, 2018). "Squamish chief Ian Campbell puts name forward for Vision Vancouver mayoral candidacy". CBC News . Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  4. Fumano, Dan; Chan, Cheryl (September 11, 2018). "Vision candidate Ian Campbell withdraws from race for mayor of Vancouver". Vancouver Sun . Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  5. Smith, Charlie (September 23, 2019). "Vision Vancouver trustee Allan Wong wants school board to support student participation in upcoming climate strike". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved April 8, 2020.