Apparently, there has been a hostage taking at city hall.
Don’t worry, not that kind of hostage taking.
Let me explain.
On Wednesday at city hall, developer-architect-planner Michael Geller got his opportunity at the microphone to speak to council about the $1-billion, 30-year revitalization plan for the Downtown Eastside.
Geller — you probably have heard or read — takes issue with the plan calling for a no-condo zone in the roughly 16-block area around Oppenheimer Park and a strip of East Hastings.
Without condos, the revitalization plan is not viable, he has argued. Especially, he added, if the provincial and federal governments keep to their promises to not contribute the hundreds of millions of dollars needed for at least 4,400 units of social housing to be built.
He’s talked a lot about this to reporters all over town and, apparently, put this observation together for one reporter to quote: “After a while, it’s quite easy for the Stockholm Syndrome to take a hold and that actually, I believe, is what has happened to many of the planners at the city.”
The Stockholm Syndrome, of course, is that psychological phenomenon in which hostages express empathy and sympathy for their captors, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them. (Thank you, Wikipedia).
Apparently, Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer came across the quote and asked Geller whether he disputed what he said.
Geller: “No, I don’t. That’s exactly what I said because it started to happen to me.”
Reimer: “So in that analogy then, the planners would be hostages because that’s the construct of the Stockholm Syndrome. So who are the hostage takers, in your mind?
Geller: “Wendy Pedersen.”
Reimer, with an exasperating sigh: “OK, thank you Mr. Geller.”
Geller, continuing: “Ivan Drury.”
Lots of laughter followed from the crowd in the chambers.
I didn’t see Pedersen or Drury from my vantage point at the deep vein thrombosis-inducing media table, so I called one of them up today. Pedersen, who took my call, and Drury are both passionate advocates for the poor and often organize protests against gentrification and for more and better housing in the Downtown Eastside.
Pedersen on Geller: “His complaint is misdirected because we actually don’t have that power at city hall — our community doesn’t have that kind of power. And the evidence for that is in the actual [Downtown Eastside] plan.”
Added Pedersen: “It’s not a personal thing between him and I. I just think he’s misreading the plan. It’s actually a displacement [of people] plan.”
And on it goes.
• • • • •
Always put the money up top in a story.
One of my journalism profs drilled this into my head way back in the day when my word machine was a typewriter and I was actually allowed to speak to the person in charge instead of an email exchange with a “media relations specialist.”
Did that come off as complaining?
Sorry about that, it’s just that…
Anyway, to the money — the money that your city council pulled in last year and the amount of money they spent on trips and conferences all for the greater good of this world-class city.
Yep, it’s that time of the year when the city releases the annual remuneration and expenses report for 2013.
Exciting stuff, right?
You be the judge.
Mayor Gregor Robertson pulled in $148,849 and spent $7,116 on local expenses such as $780 for Board of Trade annual membership dues and $732 for red pocket envelopes for Chinese New Year.
He received a $7,175 transportation allowance and shelled out $6,591 for travel and conferences, including trips to New York (Citylab: Urban Solutions to Global Challenges conference, which was partially paid for by the host), Guangzhou, China (business mission, which was paid for by the Vancouver Economic Commission, which receives the majority of its funding from the city) and St. John’s, N.L (Federation of Canadian Municipalities’ board of directors meeting).
FCM duties drove the majority of councillors’ expenses, with Vision councillors Raymond Louie ($6,860), Heather Deal ($6,473) and Tim Stevenson ($6,255) wracking up the biggest bills for their trips to Ottawa, St. John’s, N.L and Prince George.
Councillors, by the way, pulled in an average of $68,320 in salary last year, with Andrea Reimer and Tony Tang earning $71,061 for extra deputy mayor duties.
The grand total for all of council’s travel and conference expenses was $49,711 and local expenses totaled $29,304. The grand total for all of council’s transportation allowance was $46,515, including $11,795 to Kerry Jang that the city forgot to pay the councillor between December 2008 and December 2012.
Next year's report will show even bigger salaries for council.
As I reported Feb. 27, the mayor and council got a 3.24 per cent hike this year.
* * * * *
In other money news, you may have heard Police Chief Jim Chu will get his $300,000-plus-a-year contract extended until August 2017.
That means he will be on the job as the city’s top cop for 10 years.
The rationale for the extension?
I’ll let the chairperson of the Vancouver Police Board answer that.
“Chief Chu has been Vancouver’s best chief to date,” said Mayor Gregor Robertson, who doubles as chairperson of the police board. “When you look at the drop in crime across our city — and under the chief’s tenure — it’s remarkable.”
The mayor gave me that answer last week in a scrum following a press conference. Robertson joined Chu and representatives from Vancouver Coastal Health, the Insurance Corporation of B.C. and the school board to give reporters an update on the city’s work to reduce the number of pedestrian accidents and deaths in Vancouver.
Apparently, enforcement coupled with engineering upgrades such as countdown timers at crosswalks, better lighting at intersections, red light cameras and changes to turning lanes is helping.
Still, eight pedestrians died last year and more than 500 were injured.
Sadly, a few days after the press conference, a woman was struck March 8 by a semi truck at West Hastings and Richards streets. She was transported to a hospital where she died.
The mayor’s goal is to get to zero pedestrian fatalities.
“There’s no reason that we can’t achieve that,” Robertson said.
Note: Off the grid for a couple of weeks. See you in April.
twitter.com/Howellings
