Or, more importantly, the Beav's Dad, Ward.
Because, while there is no doubt that Ward Cleaver was a pretty good Father, it is also very likely that if he was living in Vancouver in 2004 Mr. Cleaver would own a comfortable home on the Westside and that he would vote NPA - everytime.
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Saturday Oct 16th is decision day for Vancouverites..... Do we go with Neighborhoods (ie. Wards) or do we soldier on with an En Masse (ie. At Large) system?
Personally, I'm a little bit conflicted about the whole thing because I don't believe that a lock, stock and barrel Ward system is actually the best way to go.
Instead, I figure the real ticket to ride is a proportional representation system where we elect a mixture of Neighborhood and At-Large counsellors.
So I would be willing vote 'No' to the Ward question if I thought we were gonna get another kick at the cat, but I really doubt that will happen if the proposition goes down in flames.
Why would I think that when the KnoWards anti-ward coalition says otherwise?
Because if we had not been delivered the gift of a transitory, and extremely rare, acquisition of moral backbone by former Mayor Philip Owen we would never have elected our current activist Vancouver city council, the first one we have had in almost two decades.
In other words the status quo in this town for most of the last 70 years has been conservative, pro-business, pro-development, pro-chamber of commerce slates that ramrod their way into power time after time on the back of huge gobs of money, a party machine, and a compliant media that always gets out the vote in the more affluent parts of town. The latest incarnation of this beast is the NPA which has never been whole-hog Neandercon, even when the party's cash cow of the day, Marathon Realty, selected Gordon Campbell to run the city. However, the NPA can always be counted on to pander to its base. As a result, there is a perpetual virtual wall that divides the city, like Old Berlin, into Eastern and Western factions. And while there is a bit of an ideological bent to this division, the main differences between West and East are cold hard cash and real estate assets.
And this means the NPA-dominated Westside always wins and the poor cousin Eastside always loses.
Always.
A nice little nugget in the usually throw-away 'Kudos and Kvetches' column in Wednesday's Vancouver Courier captured this state affairs perfectly:
"....(During a recent election campaign) we attended an all-candidates forum sponsored by a community group on (Eastside) Commercial Drive. Hundreds of voters showed up. Candidates form COPE and the Greens (and the independents) showed up, but one group was noticeably absent: the NPA.
Not a single NPA politician showed up, despite pressing concerns on the Drive about civic governance, the growing drug trade and community policing. The NPA later claimed it made a scheduling mistake and that no one from the cific party was able to attend.
No one? Nice try. The NPA ignored the meeting because it could afford to.
Thanks to support from West Side voters, the NPA was the dominant party on city council, which meant it could blithely brush off thousands of East Side citizens. The NPA could not have gotten away with such arrogance i a ward system because in a ward system, neighbourhoods and communities cannot be ignored when each ward means a seat on council. Vote yes for wards and you will automatically increase the power you and your neighbours have at city hall....It's that simple."
It really is that simple.
And when you get a whiff of all that NPA money wafting off of the Anti-KnowWards "Coalition" it's pretty darn clear that this is our one and only shot at this simple change.
That's why I'm voting Yes to the Wards (but not the Cleavers).
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