The pace of turning two North Vancouvers into one stepped up this week – from glacial to snail’s – as North Vancouver District Coun. Roger Bassam tossed his hat in the ring for mayor of the district.
Roger is a passionate, unapologetic advocate for amalgamation of the district and the city, even though there is little enthusiasm for the idea at the city. When the district asked the city to participate in a survey to find out if there’s any interest in studying the idea, city Coun. Rod Clark told the district to “get stuffed.”
However, just exactly who stuffs whom remains to be seen. Bassam, armed with survey results he believes to be overwhelmingly positive – the DNV will likely release the results this coming Monday – has made amalgamation a cornerstone of his campaign right out of the gate.
“If I’m elected, the pursuit of a unified North Vancouver will be an overarching principle,” he told me hours before he made his official declaration. “When we see the results of the survey city politicians will be obligated to sincerely engage in this process,” he said confidently, despite Coun. Clark’s earlier instruction.
Candidate Bassam wants to see amalgamation become a ballot question on Oct. 20. He’s calling for the establishment of a citizens’ assembly that will study the prospect of amalgamation and report back to the two jurisdictions with its recommendation. If the survey results are as positive as Roger’s grin seems to indicate, it will be tough for the city to stay huddled in its fortress on Lonsdale. And for the first time in 50 years, amalgamation will be an election issue.
The plot thickens if former city councillor Guy Heywood decides to run for city mayor. Heywood is a long-time fan of amalgamation, at least in principle, and we could end up with amalgamation champions from both the city and district running for mayor.
It should make for a lively campaign, by North Vancouver standards. At the very least, we can hope for a turnout that inspires more than one in three eligible voters to bother. Remember that district Mayor Richard Walton was acclaimed in 2014, which is a euphemism for “nobody bothered to run against him.”
This time around will certainly be different, as mayoralty candidates are as thick as the fluff from the cottonwood trees. Apart from Bassam, former district councillor Mike Little, famous as the last guy who wears a tie all the time and Ash Amlani of the newly-formed Building Bridges Electors Society have so far declared in the district, while Kerry Morris, who came within 900 votes of defeating Darrell Mussatto in the last election, and Linda Buchanan, the heir to Mussatto’s faction, have declared in the city.
There’s a lot of talent in the race for the mayor’s chain of office, and we haven’t even talked about West Vancouver where Mayor Michael Smith, who also went unchallenged in the last election, is expected to step down, launching a stampede for his vacant seat, with West Van Coun. Mary-Ann Booth the first to declare.
“It’s going to be an interesting campaign,” says Roger Bassam, who sounds ready for anything. I had a long talk with him on Tuesday morning before he launched his campaign. I’ve known the candidate since he was Don Bell’s constituency assistant during Bell’s term as an MP, and have always been impressed with his grasp of detail. Over the years, he’s added the forest to the trees and is now ready to contend for leadership.
Bassam has bought into the idea of density as the approach to take on affordable housing but he realizes that relying on developers is not the answer. So he’s looking to add another question on the Oct. 20 ballot to find out if there’s an appetite for the district to spend $100 million on affordable housing.
If Bassam gets his way, that ballot promises to be as interesting as the campaign.
Roger’s what we used to call a “modern” politician, not to be confused with a “progressive” politician. For example, Bassam believes technology such as driverless cars will have a huge impact on the traffic problem. So, while he’s a big fan of the current project to unwind the Gordian knot of traffic going onto and off the Second Narrows bridge, he’s confident that in the not too distant future, technology will clear our clogged traffic arteries – not mass transit, which is a “progressive” favourite.
Whatever the label, these people are running at a time when North Van is at a crossroads. We’ll either address our problems – traffic, unaffordable housing, and governance – or keep passing them on until there’s a multi-problem pileup for Generation X, Y and Z.
We all have a responsibility to prevent that from happening on Oct. 20: The future is only 119 days away!
Journalist and communications consultant Paul Sullivan has been a North Vancouver resident since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the rise of Madonna. [email protected]
What are your thoughts? Send us a letter via email by clicking here or post a comment below.
