Best of the 2011 election
Sadly, it's over.
The Juice Man is in again, the NPA is almost kaput.
COPErs are coping with the drubbing at the polls, the Greens are giddy and the independents are incensed with the income needed to influence votes.
Yes, the 2011 civic election campaign is done.
But as that chapter of political history gets tucked away neatly into a sustainable time capsule and buried in a community garden overrun by bicycle-riding chickens, there is more to tell, dear readers.
A lot more.
It's time again to roll out the best/worst/bizarre/inexplicable/etc. of the campaign.
So, here it is:
Best press release: Hands down, Joe Carangi. The NPA council candidate issued a piece of media gold to announce he was celebrating "Joe Carangi's 100,000th pedestrian who has seen him mainstreeting."
Best mathematician/clairvoyant running for office: Hands down, Joe Carangi, who was able to calculate that the 100,000th pedestrian who has seen him mainstreeting would actually see him at noon, northwest corner of Georgia and Burrard Oct. 13.
Press release with most typos: Hey, wee ull make typhos but the release issued Nov. 14 by the NPA about its "Take Back Vancouver Initative" was a doozy. Yes, initiative was spelled incorrectly, as was plaunged, feilds, comitted, taxperayers and atttitudes.
Best use of a toy crustacean: That would go to independent mayoral candidate Darrell "Saxmaniac" Zimmerman, who famously brandished his red lobster at a mayoral debate featuring Gregor Robertson and Suzanne Anton.
Best name for a toy crustacean: Heather, the name of Zimmerman's lobster. Named after Vision Coun. Heather Deal who feasted on lobster in Nova Scotia with other politicos and then circulated a pic to show the carnage left at the banquet table.
Bravest mayoral candidate: The NPA's Suzanne Anton who waded into an unruly crowd after a mayoral debate at a church, only to be told by the first person she greeted that she was a horrible person.
Worst spot for a press conference: The Broadway/Commercial SkyTrain station, where Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vision council candidate Tony Tang appeared to be doing their best Marcel Marceau. The bus noise! The traffic noise! The SkyTrain noise!
Best/worst/questionable videos: The Mayor Moonbeam and Tony Tang cinematic gems. Depending on your party affiliation, they will make you laugh or cry. YouTube them, people.
Most NPA-unfriendly hotel: The Fairmont Pacific Rim, where NPA council candidate Mike Klassen got booted out while Vision Vancouver was holding a press conference. One of Vision's developer friends owns the hotel.
Best props: The NPA. Can't recall a campaign where somebody dressed up in a chicken suit and strutted around the grounds at city hall. So who will wear it now? Councillor-elect Elizabeth Ball? Councillor-elect George Affleck?
Best disguise by a reporter: Yours truly, sitting at the media table at Vision's election night deal at the Wall Centre. For some reason, Leonard Schein-you know, of Festival Cinemas and a key person in the founding of Vision-thought I was the guy who held on to the tickets to Vision's after party at CinCin. There's an after party at CinCin?
Best quote from COPE council candidate Tim Louis before the election on Mayor Gregor Robertson and Vision Vancouver: "I have complete confidence in him to be the mayor of Vancouver. I am working very hard to see a progressive city council and I will work with him when he's elected."
Best quote from COPE council candidate Tim Louis after the election: "The Visionites have such a tenacious and indescribable hold on COPE that even if a COPE person says something positive about a party other than Vision, you're excommunicated, or threatened with it."
Twitter: @Howellings
