The ABCs of buying a local election
ABC spent over $2 million to buy 4 years at City Hall
ABC spent over $2 million to buy 4 years at City Hall
Earlier this month, Elections B.C. made the financial disclosures available for parties that ran candidates in last year’s municipal elections. The figures released suggest that, despite campaign finance reform at the municipal level, the influence of big money can still be a pretty decisive factor.
ABC Vancouver: $2,098,063
Forward with Kennedy: $1,092,573
NPA: $655,733
OneCity: $435,677
COPE: $190,968
Vision: $173,811
Greens: $161,732
VOTE Socialist: $30,795
Parties are required to file separate financial disclosures for School Board elections. To calculate total spending by party, we added up each party’s spending for Mayor and City Council, Park Board, and School Board candidates. As you can see, Ken Sim’s new party, ABC, spent significantly more than all the progressive and left parties combined. (Yes, Kennedy Stewart really did register his party with the name “Forward with Kennedy.”)
The family of libertarian billionaire Chip Wilson, owner of B.C.’s most expensive residential property as well as vast speculative real estate holdings across the city, were among the many super-rich max donors to ABC’s election coffers.
Wilson himself, listed under his official name Dennis J. Wilson, appears to have given the maximum donation of $2500 (two donations of $1250 to both the City/Parks and School Board campaigns.) The billionaire’s wife, Shannon Wilson, also gave the maximum donation, as did a number of the couple’s children.
Notably, B.C.’s municipal contribution limits do not prevent wealthy residents and developers from “hedging their bets” and making large donations to multiple and competing political parties in the same election. Ian Gillespie, the mega-developer who heads up Westbank, is for example listed as having made $1250 max donations to ABC, the NPA, the Greens, and Forward with Kennedy.
TEAM, the party that ran former city councillor Colleen Hardwick for Mayor, spent just over a quarter million dollars. Mark Marissen’s Progress party does not yet appear in Elections B.C.’s financial disclosures. The election watchdog has a searchable database for all election-year financial contributions, so you can go see for yourself who was funding each of the parties.
A win at School Board: Free transit for teenagers!
While the ABC-dominated School Board has already taken some regressive measures like voting to return cops to Vancouver-area schools, there has been at least one progressive win at the VSB early in the new Board’s term of office.
A motion introduced by COPE’s school trustee Suzie Mah to extend free public transit to all youth up to the age of 18 was passed by the Board at their Jan. 31st meeting.
This is a big deal, and now it’s up to the B.C. government to listen to the wishes of Vancouver residents and their elected school trustees. Public transit is currently free of charge for children 12 and under across the province. Extending free transit to teenagers as well is just common sense. Like so many other urgently-required climate policies, free public transit is a key demand for a more equitable and livable society in general.
We’re back!
The Thorn is a Vancouver-based newsletter that aims to contribute to the collective work of digging for the truth and telling the stories of the city from the bottom up. We need sharp — sometimes even prickly — criticism in order to think clearly about making a better world. We aim to publish once a week. Would you like to get involved? The Thorn is a non-profit society and so needs a Board of Directors. We don't really have regular meetings so the time commitment would be minimal. We also need writers, editors, and anyone else who wants to be involved. The society's website is thethorn.ca and the substack is thethorn.substack.com
Upcoming Events
In addition to regular local and international news and analysis, The Thorn also aims to amplify important social movement events and activities. This week, for example, we’re suggesting folks on the mainland consider a ferry-ride to Vancouver Island next weekend!
March for Old-Growth Feb. 25 in Victoria
It’s been two years since the BC NDP government promised to protect old-growth and a paradigm-shift in forest stewardship, but still the most at-risk forests continue to be logged. No more talk. The time for action is now.
214 organizations across the education, environment, tourism, and labour sectors have united around the Declaration for Old Growth. On February 25th, we're coming together in person to hold the BC government and new Premier accountable.
This peaceful march and rally will begin at Centennial Square (City Hall) in Victoria at noon, proceeding to the lawn of the Legislature for a rally featuring powerful speakers and performers from 1:30-3:30 — full line-up TBA.
If you're on Facebook, invite your network here.
If you're a part of an organization, union or business, sign on to the declaration here.
*The organizers acknowledge this event is being organized on the lək̓ʷəŋən territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations, and call on all participants to be respectful of this. All forests grow on the territories of Indigenous Peoples, and when we stand together for old-growth, we also stand for the return of land to Indigenous Peoples.*
More information here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/united-for-old-growth-march-and-rally-tickets-503956416207
Media Roundup
“Police-involved deaths up 700% in BC” - check out this article in The Tyee, an excellent source of news and commentary on politics and culture in B.C.
Independent media outlet The Narwhal is suing the RCMP - find out why and how you can support this important case.
At The Library
Feb 21 is Red Books Day - The purpose of Red Books Day in the battle of ideas is to expand our communities of readers and to inspire people to enter the contest to defend humanity against barbarism and extinction. Read more here →
The DSoV Reading & Discussion Group - This group typically meets twice a week: Thursday at 5:15 pm - Trees Lounge Organic Coffee at Granville and Fir and Sunday at 7:00 pm - Legion on Commercial Drive. Anyone who has attended at least one reading group can sign up to moderate and suggest a reading topic. If there is a book or long-form piece the group would like to read, then we can begin discussing it by chapter/section every other week, alternating with shorter pieces. Read more on the Democratic Socialists of Vancouver website.
New Books being released this year:
“The Humanist Manifesto” by Anita Hill: In this book, Hill examines the history of humanism and its relevance to our current political climate. Drawing on a variety of sources, she argues that humanism still has much to teach us about how we can build a better society.
“Climate Change and Its Discontents” by Naomi Klein: Klein looks at how climate change is affecting the world around us and why it's so important for us to take action now if we want to avoid catastrophic consequences in the future. This one is essential reading for anyone looking for a better understanding of what needs to be done in order for us to survive climate change.
“Socialism Today” by Bernie Sanders: A collection of essays from one of America's most prominent socialists, this book explores a wide range of topics related to socialism today — from healthcare reform to income inequality — with Sanders' signature wit and insightfulness throughout each chapter.