Continued from page 1 board,” COPE leading candidate, Dr. Paul- ine Weinstein, told the clapping, foot- stomping crowd. In a speech punctuated by chants of “COPE, COPE, COPE,” and “Socreds Out,” Weinstein told the crowd: “I think the message is very, very loud and clear to ', Victoria this evening. | “The first message is: Don't mess with _ the democratic process. The second mes- sage is: Children have a right to a quality education,” she declared. “The unity achieved here tonight. . ly Sends the message that when we unite, aie labor units, we achieve our objective and n, _ this election will be felt throughout this pro- vince. «| “We achieved unity in the November ji, (1984) and February (1985) elections, we achieved that unity in this election, we need , that unity in the provincial election, and don’t let anybody bugger it up,” exhorted Vancouver and District Labor Council _ secretary Frank Kennedy. _ Kennedy’s pointed message to the crowd, which included several prominent New Democrats, Communists and trade union- __ ists, as well as hundreds of faces unfamiliar \, to the formerly small band that worked on _ _ COPE campaigns in earlier years, reflect the @, change in fortunes that has come with that =, unity since 1980. _ _._ Theheightened invovlement of labor and |; the NDP in COPE’s campaigns helped put the civic alliance’s. message across to work- ing class, and a significant portion of anti- Socred middle class, voters. In three regular civic elections this decade COPE broke the “just Harry” syndrome — sole representa- tion on city council Ald. Harry Rankin — to capture four council seats, twice take the majority on school board, and break the deadlock of the right wing on parks board. That unity extended even to the forces outside COPE when, in the 1984 eleciton and the February, 1985 victory by COPE Ald. Bruce Yorke over NPA contender Philip Owen, public support for the cam- paigns came from the backers of Mayor Mike Harcourt and his running mates. One of those, Ald. Bill Yee, gave his pub- lic endorsement to the COPE school cam- paign. The school board vote, which resulted from a 19-per cent turnout of Vancouver’s electors — lower than regular elections, but ‘significantly higher than most “off season” races — also confirmed another emerging trend of Vancouver elections in the 80s. “People are voting more and more for the slates,” Bartlett said later. He pointed to the 51 per cent vote for COPE and the 44.8 per cent NPA tally (with independents gar- nering 4.1 per cent of the turnout) as a key example. Poll results showed the usual higher per- centage of voter turnout in the wealthier west side, but this time the difference between that and the east side poll turnout was less, a COPE preliminary analysis reveals. Using the Yorke byelection results as a base, the increase in COPE’s popular sup- port can be seen in Poll 14, the east end ‘sector that votes highest for the civic alliance. It moved to 83 per cent from the former high of 71 per cent in favor of COPE. While the results in several “swing” areas reveaied an increase in support for COPE, the figures showed that in an increasingly polarized civic political scene, a factor in this election was the relatively low turnout in NPA strongholds. For example, the wealthy southeast corner of the city — known to COPE workers as the “x-zone’” — turned out some 6,000 votes less than in the Yorke campaign. That result showed the depth of the unpopularity of Education Minister Jack Heinrich’s firing of the Vancouver trustees — five of them COPE members — last May. That firing, which followed the board’s refusal to cut back in line with the provincial government’s imposed budget, drew out thousands in protest during the spring and early summer. While the “reinstate the board” campaign inevitably lost some momentum during the late summer, polls conducted after Heinrich dropped the elec- tion writ in Decmeber showed the issue was still very much on voters’ minds. In her summation to the audience elec- tion night, campaign manager Margaret Birrell noted that the election results — at the point. believed to be a 7-2 COPE majority — were particularly impressive given the circumstances. “The Socreds called an election for a Thursday, with late night shopping, pay day, at the end of the month when people are moving...” The election announcement came in the middle of the Christmas break, “‘but we got our campaign er in five days,” said Birrell. “Bill Bennett wanted to test the voters (in the face of an upcoming provincial elec- tion). How does it feel, Bill?” she said, while the audience chanted, “‘Socreds Out.” in again,’ election rally told Praising COPE’s several hundred volun- teers, she said the election results showed “you don’t take any prisoners. “Let’s see where things go and we gua- rantee we won’t take any prisoners next time,” she asserted. Hitting Socred cuts to education, Ald. Harry Rankin said the money for education “will come from placing the priorities on the people’s needs. ..We want the corporations to assist in the education of our children.” Weinstein, who topped the polls with 29,163 votes, said later that the COPE board, while it lacks an official opposition, will ensure that the community is heard through a continued policy of public board meetings. “As a majority on previous boards, COPE has always been open and has received delegations and different opinions. We'll continue that policy,” she pledged. Elected with Weinstein were incumbents John Church (28,348 votes), Gary Onstad (28,192), Phil Rankin (28,049), and Carmela Allevato (27,694). The elected newcomers are Charles Ungerleider (27,026), Chris Allnutt (26,152), Sadie Kuehn (25,827) and Bill Darnell (25,643). In Cowichan, the Vancouver Island dis- trict where trustees were also dismissed by Heinrich, the results were different. A well- organized right-wing succeeded in wresting control, defeating two of the four incum- bents who had resisted the province’s edu- cation cutbacks. Ina district where the anti- Socred forces ran individual campaigns, only candidates Ann Andersen and Jan Broadland were successful. Dominque Roelants and Jerry Joyce, both incumbents opposed to cuts, were defeated. wry ea ae tt AE EO A A NRA Se i. Map etn, oat Ne a on limited. 7 \ Registration: Free, Lunch and Coffee provided ~ If you are interested in attending send us this registration form as soon as possible. Space is 7, COMMUNITY CONFERENCE ON POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION Who pays, who goes? The Simon Fraser Student Society invites you to participate in our Community Conference on Post-Secondary Education. Issues to be discussed are funding, accessibility, employment, curriculum and community involvement. This is an opportunity for you to have a voice in the future of Post- Secondary Education. Date: Saturday February 22nd 1986 Time: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Social to follow Place: SFU Downtown Education Centre, 549 Howe Street Vancouver Registration Form Simon Fraser Student Society Community Conference on Education Name: Address: Telephone: Special needs: Send to Simon Fraser Student Society Community Conference on Education Simon Fraser University, Burnaby V5A 1S6 For more information call 291-4494 between 9:00 and 4:30, Mon. to Fri. Sponsored by the Simon Fraser Student Society and government of Canada, Secretary of State PACIFIC TRIBUNE, FEBRUARY 5, 1986 e 3