As previously noted, there will be a by-election in BC in the Vancouver-Burrard and Vancouver-Fairview provincial ridings on October 29th. I am currently lining up interviews with some of the candidates for Vancouver-Burrard and was wondering what my readers would like me to ask them.
A few key points:
Spencer Herbert – BC NDP
elected Vancouver Park Commissioner 2005-2008
led first fundraising efforts to restore storm-damaged Stanley Park, and other key Park Board environmental, social and cultural initiatives
works closely with the Stanley Park Ecology Society and the Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre
voted ‘Unsung Hero’ by readers of the WestEnder
voted one of Vancouver’s three ‘Best Politicians’ by Georgia Straight readers
award winning manager of arts companies
associate producer, United Nations World Urban Festival
facilitator and lecturer with Better Environmentally Sound Transportation, the GLBT Centre, and BC Civil Liberties Association
avid baseball player and keen community gardener
born in Vancouver, lives in the West End with partner Romi, a Community Developer
Arthur Griffths – BC Liberals
Born April 3, 1957 (age 51) in Vancouver
Former owner of the Vancouver Canucks and Vancouver Grizzlies
Giffiths’ name synonymous with community-building, leadership, and philanthropy
Founded Canuck Place Children’s Hospice
Created Blade Runners, providing skills and training to residents of the Downtown Eastside
Initiated the Diamond Ball, contributing millions of dollars to the Canadian Cancer Society
Committed to public transit; chaired the Millennium Skytrain Line project- compelted on-time and under budget
Chaired the successful bid for the 2010 Olympic Games
Married to small-business owned Janelle Griffiths, has five children
Other candidates (that are very welcome to contact me about an interview as well) include Marc Emery of the BC Marijuana Party, Ian McLeod of the BC Conservative Party, and Drina Alicia Read of the Green Party of BC.
If you have any questions or comments about what I should ask these candidates, let me know in the comments below and I’ll also give you a shout out when I publish the finished interviews – thanks!
8 Comments — Comments Are Closed
Spencer is a very approachable person. I saw him out on the street campaigning on Friday and just walked up and started a convo. Smart guy!
I’d be interested in hearing their positions on education (specifically thoughts on tuition fees and student loan programs), health care and the InSite Supervised Injection Facility.
Arthur seems like a great guy — I ran into him at 1181 a few weeks ago and we just started chatting. Very cool.
Please ask them about their actual connection to the V-Burrard riding: How long have they lived there? Do they understand the issues facing dense apartment living? (rental rates, lack of composting options, stance on car/bike sharing services)
V-Burrard is a unique riding. I hope that we can get an MP who actually understands the area, as opposed to somebody merely trumpeting their provincial party’s line on everything.
Hi Rebecca,
Please ask them if they would reopen the BC Adult ADHD clinic that was closed down because the 1 year plus wait list to get diagnosed was too long and too politically embarrassing to the BC liberal government. The clinic asked for more money to reduce the 14 month wait list and the government refused so they shut down the clinic. They didn’t open the clinic elsewhere and just abandoned the patients that needed help.
The BC NDP said and did nothing about it too, despite several phone call attempts and promises to raise it in the legislature.
Ideally open it at another hospital than BC Children’s hospital. They added an adult ADHD clinic to the children’s ADHD clinic (it’s 85% genetic, and 5% of the population has adult ADHD) and adults very quickly became half their caseload.
It’s very hard to find someone who knows enough about adult ADHD to get accurately diagnosed, and I get continual calls and emails from all over BC looking to find someone who can diagnose adult ADHD, since most medical professionals aren’t trained to do so.
for background check out these 2 blog posts
http://tinyurl.com/25a9kq
http://tinyurl.com/yp58q7
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