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Nov. 11, 2005
A few Jews on ballot
Municipal voting province-wide Nov. 19.
PAT JOHNSON
A number of Jewish community members are seeking public office
in Vancouver's civic election Nov. 19.
Incumbent Vancouver city councillor Fred Bass, who is completing
his second term in office, is seeking re-election under the Coalition
of Progressive Electors (COPE) banner. Bass, a medical doctor trained
in public health and preventive medicine, has opposed the expansion
of gambling and the Richmond-Airport-Vancouver (RAV) transit line.
He advocates governance changes such as direct election to the Greater
Vancouver Regional District and the TransLink boards. He also supports
more social and co-op housing and more treatment and rehabilitation
for people with addictions. Bass was the first director of health
promotion in Vancouver and served on Vancouver's Bicycle Advisory
Committee and on Vancouver's Clouds of Change Task Force, which
addressed global warming. Bass, who acknowledges he is not religiously
Jewish, nevertheless credits his Jewish heritage with his willingness
to take minority positions and for his interest in learning and
music.
Mel Lehan, a fixture on the local political scene for many years,
is running with COPE for the Vancouver Park Board. A teacher and
"longtime community builder," Lehan co-founded St. James
Community Square, a recreational and cultural space; organized a
successful effort to save affordable housing in Kitsilano; and led
the creation of adventure playgrounds at Tatlow Park and Beaconsfield
School. Lehan said he was instrumental in the park board preserving
the natural setting of the Point Grey foreshore and organized Neighbor
to Neighbor, a citywide coalition of neighborhood associations.
He has received awards from the David Suzuki Foundation, the Kitsilano
Chamber of Commerce and Kitsilano Neighborhood House.
"I believe that parks and recreational facilities are a vital
part of our lives and they can play a bigger role," said Lehan,
who was the New Democratic party candidate running against Premier
Gordon Campbell in the last provincial election.
Another longtime political activist trying to make the jump to elected
office is Marty Zlotnick. Zlotnick, who ran for mayor in 1980, is
seeking a seat on the Vancouver Park Board this election under the
Non-Partisan Association banner. He has served as president of the
Jewish Family Service Agency; managing partner of a law firm; president
of two hotels; vice-president of the B.C. and Yukon Hotel Association
and founding chair of the Air Canada Championship, among other achievements.
Zlotnick told the Independent that he would like to see more
co-ordination between the school board and boards to make more efficient
use of facilities, especially as the population increases and facilities
become more in demand.
In a mayoral race that is focusing a lot of attention on front-runners
Jim Green and Sam Sullivan, the other 18 candidates are struggling
to be heard. One of those is independent candidate Darrell Zimmerman,
a musician who wants to further develop arts and culture. A former
stock and commodities broker, Zimmerman said his priority issue
is free public transit, which he said would create economic spinoffs
to offset the lost fare revenue.
"Transit fares are a tax on the poor," Zimmerman said.
With free transit, which would presumably increase ridership, Zimmerman
said, the region would not be forced to twin the Port Mann Bridge.
"We've got to start getting people out of their cars,"
said Zimmerman, who has been involved in local issues such as homelessness
and alleviating poverty and was a volunteer with Vancouver Adapted
Music Society, providing music therapy and instruction to people
with disabilities.
Several ways to vote
Civic election day is a Saturday, which presents some difficulty
for observant Jews and others. But the City of Vancouver, and other
jurisdictions, have made accommodations for those unable to vote
on the designated election day.
Voting stations are open on election day, Nov. 19, from 8 a.m. to
8 p.m., leaving some time after Havdalah for observant Jews to vote.
If this is inconvenient or impossible, other options are available.
The city has advance voting opportunities on Nov. 15 and 16 and
voters may request a mail-in ballot, which must be returned to the
Vancouver Election Office no later than 8 p.m. on Nov. 19 to be
counted. For more information, call the Vancouver Election Office
at 604-873-7681 or e-mail [email protected].
CJC sponsors forum
Jim Green, the Vision Vancouver candidate for mayor, and Sam Sullivan,
the NPA candidate, will face off in a forum Nov. 16 at the Jewish
Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. The event, which is co-sponsored
by Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, the Vancouver Multicultural
Society and the Chinese-Canadian social service agency SUCCESS,
begins at 7 p.m. in the Norman Rothstein Theatre, 950 West 41st
St. The event will focus on issues of concern to multicultural communities
and everyone is welcome. For more information, call the CJC at 604-257-5101.
Pat Johnson is editor of MVOX Multicultural Digest, www.mvox.ca.
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