Lotusland
By now, you've likely heard that Mr. Mark Marissen and a number of his 'progressive' minions have been banned from running for civic office through 2026.
Bob Mackin, writing in Business in Vancouver, summarizes the details:
Regarding that $50K loan, which Mr. Marissen says he took because he didn't know that big money donations had been banned and because he received bad legal advice from an as yet unnamed lawyer, Mr. Mackin was on that story back in February of this year:
But that was then and this is now, and the 'non-permissible loan' has still not been re-paid.
So, what was the good Mr. Marissen to do?
Why, gather all his friends and influential uncles for a fundraiser of course!
From Mr. Mackin's most recent piece:
All the usual super-fine folks, given Mr. Marissen's ties to the BC and Federal Liberals, right?
But Herb Dhaliwal?
Isn't that a bit of a surprise you might be asking yourself (and/or half remembering)?
Well.
It's now time for the history lesson, as told by the venerable Paul Willcocks writing in BC Business way, way back in 2007:
Gosh.
So many names, so much history.
Stay tuned for the next installment...
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By now, you've likely heard that Mr. Mark Marissen and a number of his 'progressive' minions have been banned from running for civic office through 2026.
Bob Mackin, writing in Business in Vancouver, summarizes the details:
...Elections BC cited Progress Vancouver for multiple violations: Taking a non-permissible loan of $50,000; receiving donations without reporting the required information (missing or incomplete contributor names and addresses); prohibited campaign contributions from outside B.C.; and contributions more than the annual limit...
Regarding that $50K loan, which Mr. Marissen says he took because he didn't know that big money donations had been banned and because he received bad legal advice from an as yet unnamed lawyer, Mr. Mackin was on that story back in February of this year:
...The fourth-place finisher in last fall’s race for the Vancouver mayoralty received an illegal $50,000 loan and is now struggling to return the money.Mark Marissen was the leader of Progress Vancouver and had received the loan from Jason McLean in February 2022 “to finance the day-to-day administration of Progress Vancouver's elector organization office intended to operate on a continuing basis outside campaign periods,” according to an Elections BC prohibited campaign loan form...{snip}...Jason McLean is CEO of the privately held McLean Group, which owns real estate, construction, film production, IT and communications, and flight charter companies. He is a former chair of the then-named Vancouver Board of Trade, and a former Vancouver Police Board member who worked as an aide in the office of Liberal prime minister Jean Chretien. He declined to comment...
But that was then and this is now, and the 'non-permissible loan' has still not been re-paid.
So, what was the good Mr. Marissen to do?
Why, gather all his friends and influential uncles for a fundraiser of course!
From Mr. Mackin's most recent piece:
...In a June 18 Facebook post, Marissen posed for a photograph with (Jason) McLean in a Coal Harbour condo at a fundraiser aimed at paying off campaign debts: “It’s much more challenging afterwards — every bit helps,” Marissen wrote.Also present were former B.C. premier and Marissen’s ex-wife Christy Clark, former Vancouver mayor and former BC Liberal MLA Sam Sullivan, ex-Liberal MP Herb Dhaliwal and Daoping Bao, the CEO of Burnaby’s Smart Label Solutions, where Marissen is on the advisory board...
All the usual super-fine folks, given Mr. Marissen's ties to the BC and Federal Liberals, right?
But Herb Dhaliwal?
Isn't that a bit of a surprise you might be asking yourself (and/or half remembering)?
Well.
It's now time for the history lesson, as told by the venerable Paul Willcocks writing in BC Business way, way back in 2007:
...There is no denying the Marissen team played rough. The most infamous episode saw the (Paul) Martin forces take over the riding association of (then Liberal) MP and Chrétien supporter Herb Dhaliwal in 2002, while Dhaliwal was out of the country and his wife was dying of cancer. The takeover not only locked up delegate support for Martin; it killed Dhaliwal’s chances of running again. He blames (David) Basi and others on Marissen’s team, complaining of questionable mass sign-ups of instant Liberals...
Gosh.
So many names, so much history.
Stay tuned for the next installment...
_____
Header comes from Mr. Mike Watt, infamous bass player and historian of the musical underground...And former member of The Minutemen.
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8 comments:
“…because he received bad legal advice from an as yet unnamed lawyer…”
Well, I can name a lawyer involved in the loan arrangement. Jason McLean, who apparently made the loan.
Excellent point Lew.
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Its been 15 years?? (2008) since BC Mary was covering the political beat which included another McLean, David. Any relation to the current one?
https://bctrialofbasi-virk.blogspot.com/search?q=McLean
His daddy.
OMG, that is funny! You'd have thought his ex might have bailed him out.
Do remember the carry on in what was Herb Dhaliwal's seat. Lived in the area. Never liked Paul Martin's politics and that little "trick" put the old tin lid on it.
Oh, please keep us posted. Its nice to know Marsden is being "rewarded' for all his past "work".
He can't pay back $50K?
Didn't get good advise or didn't know. OMG at least he wasn't elected Mayor. Any one who doesn't know the game rules while running for political office is simply not ready for "prime time". Can hardly imagine what he would have been had he been elected. Sort of dodgie, I'd say.
The city has Sims and we are all better off. He does seem to be trying and that is better than a lot of politicians.
e.a.f.--
In my opinion, Mr. Marissen ran, and was supported by at least one person with deep pocket who was once a member of the Vancouver Police Board, at least in part, as an insurance policy designed to ensure that Mr. Sims would win in a scenario where the mayoral race was close.
Why am I of that opinion?
Well...
Is it not likely that a 'progressive' candidate would receive more votes from disaffected citizens from the left side of the political ledger than the right?
So, if things had been close, who would have been held back most by the few thousand votes that were peeled off by the 'progressive' Mr. Marissen... Sim or Stewart?
Of course, in the end, none of this mattered given how far out front all that ad money pushed Sim, but braintrusts and/or deep pocketers didn't know that things would turn out that way at the start of the race.
And why did I mention the Police Board connection?
Because....this... and...this.
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Vancouver politics is dirty and always has been, it is just now the more "progressive" blogists dare report the shenanigans of local politcal acrobatics.
Being involved in the transit debate in Vancouver for over 40 years, politcal malfeasance and bureaucratic misconduct reign supreme.
What we saw in the previous city election was a well orchestrated and probably Beijing lead run for Mayor of Vancouver. The simplistic alphabetical party of convenience or ABC was chosen as the name as it would give those who lack a grasp of the official languages an easy time to vote; as simple as ABC!
This name should not have been allowed in politics.
Vancouver has been ground zero for money laundering and still is as well chosen politicos have ensured that the both the city and province reap benefits of the ongoing land rush and of course, let us not for get the land speculators and land developers making fortunes with our housing crisis and the current ZEN of densicfication.
The Broadway subway is the driver for this ZEN, yet the huge costs will beggar the region for decades to come. currently over $11 billion is being spent to extend the Expo and millennium lines a mere 21.7 km, and the NDP, TransLink and the CoV have neatly packaged up this expenditure into neat little cutlets to hide the true cost from the public.
The province and Beijing needs players in city hall to continue this ruse and continue it will as there is not one politicians who has the moral fibre to call them out!
There is a lot more, but so much of it is swept under the carpet that to bring to light the entire rotten mes would mean corruption overload and as we know, our politicians ultimately control the legal machinery. Just ask why the province did not want to continue the investigation of a cool $$ one million $$ found in a duffel bag in Clinton Park in the late 90's.
Maybe a hint is in order and it has to do with two favourite bastion Canadian companies who were in the news over "Success Fees" paid to build a certain rapid transit system in foreign lands.
Corruption thy name is the CoV!
O.K., I understand your point. got it.
The issue of government workers' unions supporting one party over the other
has always been a difficult one for me. Just because you belong to a Union and work for a government doesn't take away your right to speak on a subject. On the other hand, too much of it can disrupt the work of government and influence people beyond what is appropriate. Unions have an obligation to represent their members. On the other hand did the members agree to the position the Union took or was it simply their decision.
The police Union had a vested interest in Sims, so it might have been better if they had not issued an opinion. If there was an issue which required some "whistle blowing" it would have been differeent and they could have presented proof. Those of us who know Vancouver history know politics and the police at times, well a good clean up was required.
Didn't know about the information you supplied via the articles.
Wasn't keen on Robertson or Stewart.
Are there going to be an extra 100 police officers? Most likely not. What the police department in Vancouver needs is an overhaul and most likely a new police chief.
The police aren't responsible for the problems in Vancouver--drugs and unhoused people along with the crime. All they can do is arrest. The amount of money required to deal with the issues is great and although the voters wring their hands about Vancouver's problems, no one wants to pay to deal with the issues. There are also not enough health care proffessionals either. Of course if government of various levels weren't so busy spending money on building the Broadway line it sure could use the money to deal with the social issues plaguing the province, 11 Billion is a lot of money. Most of this "sky train' BUILDING is for the benefit of developers, builders, etc. They made the money. For what was spent on Skytrain couuld have been spent on different methods of transportation. Some one made a lot of money over the decades and it wasn't the majority of taxpayers.
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