Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver earns thousands of votes but no seats in election debut
Stephen Hui, November 20
straight.com
All candidates running under the banner of the upstart Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver slate failed to win public office in the November 19 civic election.
But the Green Party of Vancouver’s Adriane Carr, one of several other candidates recommended by NSV, managed to gain a seat on city council.
NSV campaigned on a platform of neighbourhood-based planning and campaign-finance reform, criticizing the developer-influenced policies of Vision Vancouver and the NPA.
The slate’s mayoral candidate, West End Neighbours cofounder Randy Helten, garnered 4,007 votes.
That tally is far behind winner Gregor Robertson’s 77,005 votes and runner-up Suzanne Anton’s 58,152 votes, but much more than 2008 third-place finisher and then-Work Less Party candidate Betty Krawczyk’s 1,346 votes.
NSV’s four council candidates fared better than Helten.
Elizabeth Murphy led the slate, placing 23rd with 19,644 votes.
Nicole Benson received 17,983 votes, Terry Martin managed 13,025 votes, and Marie Kerchum took in 12,614 votes.
NSV had also endorsed council candidates RJ Aquino (COPE), Sandy Garossino (independent), Tim Louis (COPE), Bill McCreery (NPA), and Ellen Woodsworth (COPE), none of which were elected by voters.
