David Cadman is gone. For all intents and purposes. Hell stick around until December, but thanks to COPEs campaign nomination meeting last Sunday at John Oliver secondary, where the three-term city councillor fell seven votes shy of a third-place no-name, hes a lame duck.
At that meeting, nearly 1,000 COPE diehards tapped former councillor Tim Louis, incumbent Coun. Ellen Woodsworth and unknown activist R.J. Aquino for the COPE portion of a joint Vision/COPE candidate slate. But for the first time in 10 years, when Vancouverites vote on Nov. 19, Cadmans name will be absent from the ballot.
Its a remarkable fall for COPEs burly old lynchpin who was first elected to council in 2002. And while inner-party politics enabled Cadmans defeat, all Vancouver council candidatesfrom all three mainstream partiesshould take heed.
During his years as a city councillor, Cadman logged countless air miles globetrotting from one sustainability conference or climate change summit to another. The environment, or more aptly, saving the world from the rest of us, became his number one priority. Cadmans passport reads like a Rick Steves marathon. Madrid, Milan, Amsterdam, Kyoto, Auckland, Sydney (Australia, not Cape Breton), the Ivory Coast, Jeju, Densapar, Kolding, Sendai, etc. Since 2005, Cadmans taxpayer-funded travel expenses total at least $118,800.
Following his Sunday defeat, a bleary-eyed Cadman stuck to the script, reminding reporters about his presidency of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, a global network of green advocates headquartered in Bonn, Germany. The council, he said, includes 1,300 local governments around the world.
The juxtapositions are hard to miss: Vancouver city council, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives; 1,300 foreign jurisdictions, 1,000 disgruntled COPEsters. Cadmans life as a global enviro-activist likely alienated local supporters and blurred his job description beyond recognition.
Whats Cadmans mandate? Whos he fighting for? Whats he more familiar with? Chinatown or Kyoto? Airport lounges or community centre meeting rooms?
Whatever his beginnings in Vancouver, Cadman now represents the global green political class, which boards carbon-spewing airliners bound for exotic locales to bask in orgies of self-congratulation. Moreover, despite his hectic travel schedule, its difficult to recognize any tangible accomplishments. Cadmans role as an official observer of the green jetset hardly justifies his publicly-funded itinerary. Even among his acolytes, Cadman likely scores low. Hes David Suzuki without the street cred. A poor mans Al Gore. But fear not. At 63, hes still spry. Hell land softly somewhere, using his heightened green profilepadded on the backs of taxpayersto land a plum position at the enviro-lobbying firm or eco-organization of his choice.
Meanwhile, in the days following his Sunday defeat, Cadmans been busy cementing his out-of-touch status with everyday Vancouverites. During a Monday interview with CKNW Radio, Cadman, still incredulous, pointed again to his record as a worldwide phenomenon. He dropped big names (New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg) and noted progress in far-flung precincts (Mexico City) yet barely mentioned Vancouver.
Perhaps the COPE rank and file, leftist and populist, likes their councillors at home. Perhaps they believe those proverbial kitchen table issues demand equal standing alongside messianic missions to save Mother Earth.
Of course, the environment, in reality and as a political tool, is not going away. As long as Mayor Gregor Robertson, a green caricature of the Ken doll persuasion, occupies 12th and Cambie, everything needs greening.
But if analyzed coldly, the political death of David Cadman may haunt this falls campaign trail. Keep your eyes on the wind, waves and ruling elites. But dont forget about your people.
Twitter: @MarkHasiuk
