Those who know me know that I’m a bit of a political wonk. Not obsessive or a junkie, but I certainly like to discuss the issues and consider new opinions. You couple that with an upcoming mayoral election in my new home city of Vancouver, well you know that my ears have been tuned into a bit.
Okay the first thing I had to figure out was the whole NPA, COPE, and Vision deal as far as political spectrum goes. That out of the way, well I’ve started to ponder this election a bit (one of the 4 I’ll have voted in this election season).
I had a chance to both listen to and speak with Vision candidate (centre-left) Gregor Robertson at Launch Party V last month and was impressed with his ideas. Peter Ladner I didn’t know too much about, but as the NPA candidate (right), I could guess his stance on a lot of issues.
Last night I was told by the Vision Team that there was going to be a debate that night on affordable housing, homelessness, and mental health issues just around the corner from me. I couldn’t very well pass that up, now could I?
Housing and homelessness have been on my mind a lot recently. I look at the people on the street in the Downtown Eastside and wonder what will becoming of them come the 2010 Olympics. I look at the cost of places to live close to the core of where the Vancouver tech community has set most of their roots (Gastown and Yaletown). I see buildings in decay and wonder why they couldn’t be renovated into housing.
Funny enough, those same questions are on the minds of a lot of people in this city because every one of them was touched on last night.
In the midst on trying to capture pictures I wasn’t always able to focus on the discussion, but the tenor I caught. The mannerisms I caught. 
Peter Ladner was not a dynamic figure. I took hundreds of pictures of him last night and he has one expression, something I’d call a detached dour. Gregor Robertson I found to be a far more dynamic figure in his passion and discussion of the issues. Are this just surficial judgments that have no bearing on a campaign? Maybe, but a charismatic leader can inspire and lead people. He can challenge people.
For the meat of the discussion, frankly there are no easy answers to any of these questions. Both men agreed that money would be needed to work on the problems. Mr. Robertson pledged to end street homelessness by 2015. Mr. Ladner continued on NPA pledges to build more affordable housing, but he seemed to waver on exactly where that housing might be.
The Olympic Village’s transformation into housing for the rest of us, well it sounds like not as much of it is going to be something that either the poor or middle class will be able to afford.
Contrary to what the Globe and Mail says, this I feel is the core issue that separates the candidates. 
I see Gregor Robertson having a vision of Vancouver that will allow more people to be able to afford to live closer to Downtown if not in Downtown. I see Gregor Robertson being a man who has the passion and ability to connect with people, the people who are working and building a newer, better Vancouver.
I look at the tech community here, we’re young, damn-freakin’-scary smart, and passionate about what we do. We’re putting Vancouver on the map. I don’t see Peter Ladner paying much attention to us.
Peter Ladner certainly is carrying the baggage of the NPA’s past. He isn’t backing down on that, I didn’t hear him back peddle too much. Seems like a lot of more let the market figure it all out policy.
Yeah, that’s turned out to be a real winner of a strategy for the global economy hasn’t it?
Both parties/candidate put up rather sparse (okay not very good) blog posts: Vision – Peter Ladner, but I’d like to continue the lively discussion we had on Twitter about this.
Please step up to the microphone placed in the centre aisle…
While you’re thinking, here is a slide show of some of the pictures I took from last night:
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