Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver

Did the placement of Vision campaign signs violate election laws?
Michael Aynsley, November 10, 2011
Vancouver Openfile

Outlying mayoral candidate Randy Helten, with the Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver (NSV), submitted a formal complaint to Vancouver’s chief election officer on Thursday regarding the placement of about 15 election signs near City Hall.

This news comes via CityHallWatch, a rushed looking WordPress site which Helten himself is the “coordinator” of. On Wednesday, a post was made with the attention-grabbing title, “Alert: Vision Vancouver violated election rules on 1st polling day”. Vision campaign signs were spotted hanging from a chain link fence surrounding an empty lot on the south side of 12th Avenue and Cambie Street, right across from City Hall. Municipal election law states that campaign signs cannot be within 100 metres of a voting place, and on Wednesday, advance voting did indeed begin at 453 West 12th Avenue. And while I haven’t done the measurement myself, I can say that directly across the street is awfully close. Continue reading →

NSV Candidates for City Council – Group Responses ~ Nicole Benson, Marie Kerchum, Terry Martin, Elizabeth Murphy
Vancouver Area Cycling Coalition, November 10, 2011

Q1. What is your relationship with cycling?
A (Nicole Benson): I have been cycling since I was a little girl and it is my preferred mode of transportation, especially in the summer.
A (Randy Helten, mayoral candidate): The bicycle is my primary means of mobility in Vancouver. Continue reading →

Charlie Smith, November 10, 2011
Straight.com

Ask Elizabeth Murphy why she’s running for Vancouver city council, and prepare yourself for a lengthy response. As a former city-housing-department employee and a former B.C. Housing development officer, the rookie council candidate — who’s running with Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver — knows her way around the planning process. And she’s not impressed by the way the Vancouver Non-Partisan Association and Vision Vancouver have been managing the city over the past six years. To her, it looks like a case of developers running wild.

“Really, it comes down to an issue of follow the money,” Murphy said during an interview at the Georgia Straight office. “And I think that one of the reasons thta they are so similar is how they are both funded. It is of particular concern because one of the major roles for the city council is land-use authority. So essentially, they regulate land. They determine what can be built in the city.”

Continue reading →

On Sunday, November 13 a “voter compass” will show levels of agreement on major issues at www.wera.bc.ca. Compare how NSV, NPA, COPE, Vision, Green and de-Growth stand on issues.

Cheryl Rossi, November 9, 2011
Vancouver Courier

West End resident Sukhi Kambo found CBC’s Vote Compass for the May federal election so helpful that she contacted the West End Residents Association about developing a similar tool for the upcoming Nov. 19 civic election.

According to Christine Ackermann, the president of WERA, Kambo, who works as a research scientist at St. Paul’s Hospital and declined to speak to the Courier, wanted a tool that would inform users of the stances of the different municipal parties. Continue reading →

Nicole Benson of Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver is campaigning for hyper-local democracy

Ben Christopher, November 9, 2011
www.thetyee.ca

When Nicole Benson posed for her official campaign photograph, she removed her steel lip stud. But it’s back in when she’s on Vancouver’s streets campaigning for a seat on city council. The piercing just reinforces what Benson wants voters to know about the political organization she represents, Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver (NSV). “None of us are career politicians,” she says.

“What unites us,” adds Benson, “is our passion for community-level decision making, participatory democracy and freedom from any undue influence — from big development companies or anybody else.” Continue reading →

Matthew Burrows, November 7, 2011
Straight.com

The mayoral candidate with Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver had one word when asked whether or not he would serve an eviction notice to the Occupy Vancouver protesters if he were mayor.

“No,” Randy Helten told the Straight by phone today (November 7).

Asked if his position on Occupy Vancouver, now in its fourth week, differed from those of Mayor Gregor Robertson or NPA mayoral candidate Suzanne Anton, Helten added, “Yes.” Continue reading →

On Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver, Adriane Carr and Sandy Garossino
Jeff Lee
November 5, 2011
Vancouver Sun

In any civic election there are always well-meaning issue-oriented candidates who, regardless of their issue, stand little chance of getting elected.

In Vancouver, that’s particularly the case because of the powerful strength of entrenched parties. That’s Vision Vancouver, the Non-Partisan Association and the Coalition of Progressive Electors. This is a tough city to break into as an independent or even as a fledgling party. Vision Vancouver can tell you that; they had to start with a revolt from within COPE after Larry Campbell swept all the council, park board and school board seats in 2002 but was soon on the outs with councillors like Tim Louis and Fred Bass. Continue reading →

Randy Helten and NSV cleverly develop new “progressive” slate
Daniel Fontaine
November 5, 2011
CityCaucus.com

In the midst of a very busy news cycle, Randy Helten and his Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver party announced they were rounding out their civic slate. Instead of holding a traditional nomination meeting, they decided to issue a news release and surprisingly endorse candidates from across the political spectrum.

Helten’s NSV endorsed “progressive” slate heading into the November 19th election now looks like this:

• Elizabeth Murphy (NSV)
• Nicole Benson (NSV)
• Marie Kerchum (NSV)
• Terry Martin (NSV)
• R J Aquino (COPE)
• Adriane Carr (Green),
• Sandy Garossino (Independent),
• Tim Louis (COPE),
• Bill McCreery (NPA),
• Ellen Woodsworth (COPE)

Continue reading →

Stephen Hui, November 4, 2011
straight.com

The upstart Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver electoral group has endorsed six more candidates in order to fill out its slate for city council.

Among the new endorsements are candidates from “rival” slates, NSV notes in a news release today (November 4).

NSV announced it is recommending voters support RJ Aquino (COPE), Adriane Carr (Green), Sandy Garossino (independent), Tim Louis (COPE), Bill McCreery (NPA), and Ellen Woodsworth (COPE). Continue reading →

Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver is pleased to announce our recommendations for an additional six City Council candidates to fill out the Council slate.

We are asking our supporters to consider voting for these candidates in addition to the five who are running under the NSV banner: Randy Helten (Mayor); Nicole Benson, Marie Kerchum, Terry Martin and Elizabeth Murphy (Council). https://nsvancouver.ca/nsv-candidates/

The additional candidates we recommend are:

. R J Aquino (COPE)
. Adriane Carr (Green)
. Sandy Garossino (independent)
. Tim Louis (COPE)
. Bill McCreery (NPA)
. Ellen Woodsworth (COPE)

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