ae SS a RE

VANCOUVER ELECTION '86

COPE
needs
E-day

With only 10 days to go until Van-
couver voters trek to the polls to elect
anew mayor, city council, school and
park boards, the Committee of Pro-
gressive Electors is calling for hun-

dreds of volunteers to help get out the
vote on Nov. 15.

It’s volunteers that make a COPE
election campaign possible and this
year’s campaign is the most ambitious
ever undertaken by the labor-backed
civic alliance.

Volunteer labor was mainly res-
ponsible for transforming the three-
storey building at 108 E. Broadway
from a lamp retailing and manufatur-
ing plant to an effective election head-
quarters complete with phone bank,
printing and computer rooms and a
childcare centre.

It is COPE volunteers who use the
143 phone lines seven days a week as
part of the campaign plan to contact
85,000 voters prior to election day.

Election day will see some 2,000
COPE volunteers on the streets,
knocking on doors, phoning from a
dozen phone banks throughout the
city, scrutineering in the major polls
and operating a city-wide car pool to
get voters to the polls. — 2

“Campbell and the NPA have lots
of money and the only way we can
counter that is by having thousands of
people involved for COPE on E-
Day,” said David Lane, COPE’s
election-day co-ordinator.

Lane stressed that COPE can’t use
volunteers effectively if they just
“walk in” on election day. “Slotting
2,000 people into offices, polls and
phone banks all across the city means
we must have their names well before
election day,” he said.

Richard Saunders, volunteers co-
ordinator at COPE election head-
quarters, reported that some 1,200
people have already signed up to
work for E-day work. “Our four
community offices have really brought
people in as well,” he said listing the
offices COPE opened following the
provincial election in Point Grey at
4589 Dunbar St., Vancouver South at
6438 Main St., Vancouver East at
1206 Commercial Dr. and the West
End at 1070 Davie St.

Throughout next week COPE will
be offering training sessions to volun-
teers in all aspects of election day
work and in operating the new Data-
Vote system.

To sign up for work on election
day, contact COPE election head-
quarters at 875-1261 as soon as possi-
ble.

On election eve, COPE volunteers
and supporters are invited to the vic-
tory celebration to be held at the
Croation Cultural Centre, 3243 Find-
ay St., near Commercial Dr. and 18th

ve.

As in previous elections, the Van-
couver and District Labor Council.
has produced a slate card listing the
COPE and Civic Independent candi-
dates which will be delivered as part of
the election day canvass.

Vote C

FRANK

KENNEDY WEINSTEIN
MAYOR
COPE
Harry Rankin

COUNCIL

COPE

Libby Davies

Bruce Eriksen
Frank Kennedy
Jean Swanson
Carole Walker

PAULINE

JOHN SUSAN TIM i
CHURCH DAHLIN LOUIS }
Pauline Weinstein Sadie Kuehn
Bruce Yorke Gary Onstad E
Civic Independents Phil pal als :
Bill Yee Charles Ungerleiae
Sandra Bruneau eal
David Levi PARKS BOARD eer
SCHOOL BOARD : res ;
oe Arnau
COPE Mike Chrunik.
Carmela Allevato Connie Fogal
Chris Allnutt Sue Harris
: John Church Tim Louis
Susan Dahlin _ Mike O'Neill
Bill Darnell Pat Wilson i]

Equity, fair wages envisioned —

Continued from page 1

Protecting small business also rates high
as a priority, Rankin said.

“My vision is of a city in which small
business has the opportunity and the sup-
port from its civic government in order to
prosper and offer employment opportuni-
ties,” he said, promising to reject “wide
open shopping hours whichis unfair Cmpti-
tion.”

Rankin said he was “proud” that the

leadership of COPE and its unity partners
on council had established the race relations
and equal opportunites programs “which
ensures fair treatment of all minorities at
city hall.

The COPE alderman also noted the civic
alliance’s ‘‘political commitment” to “end

longstanding inequality between male and
female workers and negotiate pay equity for
female workers employed by our city.”

He said the “‘same sense of fairness” is
behind the city’s stipulation that contractors
awarded contracts on city projects pay a fair
wage — based on the rates and benefits
enjoyed by the city’s temporary work force
under union contract — to their workers.

Rankin said he plans, in conjunction with
Vancouver Food Bank director Sylvia Rus-
sell, to host a special conference on poverty
and hunger in the city with the participation
of all concerned organizations.

“It is my contention that the sight of
hundreds of people lining up at four separ-
ate locations every week for a bag of grocer-
ies is the largest single blight on our city,” he

asserted. 3
Rankin also reiterated the COPE pledg
to develop the Expo lands between fof
Cambie and Granville street bridges * A
housing, along the lines of the F alse
development on the south shore of F?
Creek. oe
He stressed that as mayor, with pee
gressive city council, he would expedit on
project and, see that fair wages are pal sind
the construction of mixed-market ho ot
where one-third of the units are for
income families. erate
Rankin noted his views on Vancouve
supported by outgoing mayor Mike a
court and his ally, Ald. Bill Yee (4
seeking re-election under the Civic ©

pendents banner).
_ ae

Budget, housing separate slates —

Being the mayor of Vancouver entails
more than just chairing meetings of city
council. The mayor is expected to give the
kind of leadership and direction that will
help Vancouver grow and improve the
quality of life of all citizens.

But how to do this is usually a highly
controversial question. Gordon Campbell
and the NPA have one set of policies and

_ priorities; the Committee of Progressive

Electors and I have another. Our contrast-
ing and opposing attitudes to developers
and development are a good example.

Developers are always coming to city
hall and council when they have big devel-
opment projects in mind. They want us to
relax our zoning bylaws and building
standards to suit their particular needs
They want concessions and_ subsidies.
Often their projects are in direct conflict
with the plans for the city’s growth and
development adopted by our planning
department and city council.

Gordon Campbell, the NPA mayoralty
candidate, was a developer consultant
before he become an alderman. He is the
developers’ choice for mayor. They look
to him to serve their interests.

I have always made by approach to
developers quite clear. I will oppose any

and all concessions, subsidies or relaxing .

of zoning bylaws and building standards
they’ve demanded just so they can make a
fast buck at the expense of our citizens.

Homeowners have to conform to city by-
laws. As far as I’m concerned developers
must do the same. Developers who abide
by the city’s bylaws and whose projects are
in line with the city’s overall plans will
receive my co-operation.

An example of a good developer project
is the proposal of a group of unions to
invest $400 million of their pension funds to
build 4,500 housing units on the north
shore of False Creek (the Expo 86 site).
Here is a project that would provide
hundreds of new jobs at union wages,

build the kind of affordable housing that
Vancouver needs and inject a huge
amount of cash into the city’s economy.
Yet even this worthwhile project is being
attacked by Non-Partisan Association
candidates and their hacks who write for
the daily press.

A second major issue on which I and
COPE on the one hand, and Gordon
Campbell and the NPA on the other, have
opposing policies is that of fiscal
responsibility — of balancing the city’s

budget and of keeping the city solvent i

I have been chairman of city ©° :
finance committee for four years now eel
policies I have proposed have i fa
adopted by city council. Here are so™
the results: 5 kept

e Ina period of restraint we have”
up our level of services and we have
laid off city staff. ee

@ Our tax increases have been modes’
much lower than those of many adjo
municipalities. oe. f

© We have balanced the city $ bud®
every year. ; :

@ Our credit rating is tops, 4 pee
the highest obtainable on the interna
money market. ssible only |

These achievements were POS® pA
after bitter fights in council. we a
wanted us to cut services and CUY © ihe

They fought against using some iow"
interest from the city’s property “" ven
ment fund to balance the budget, of
though this interest is an essent! e sitio
the city’s annual revenue. Thelt po* nell
was fiscally irresponsible. Ald. Cart o36
voted against both the city’s 1985 ane ~~
budgets. vir
As mayor, I will see to it that our red
ces and staff are maintained, our 7
rating kept high and fs sony PE
course this will be possible © tS
and Ald. Bill Yee's Civic Independr”
again win a majority.

2 e PACIFIC TRIBUNE, NOVEMBER 5, 1986