To the editor:
This weekend, Gwyneth Paltrow gracefully hosted an Democratic Party fundraiser dinner where you could presumably glad-hand President Barack Obama. Starting price to attend was $15,000. In March this year, Vision held a fundraiser lunch hosted by real estate magnate Bob Rennie, and apparently attended by some 50 development industry professionals. The suggested donation per plate was $25,000.
So why would anyone pay an extra ten grand more to backslap the likes of Mr. Robertson and his Vision cohorts instead of an opportunity to meet the president of the United States? Well it’s pretty obvious — you go where you’re most likely to get a return on your investment dollars.
These are the voices that the current incumbents at city hall are listening to. This is the crowd who are on the Easter egg hunt for juicy pieces of Vancouver property that can be rezoned for highrise development using the ad-hoc spot zoning that been so carefully honed by city hall. Think the Rize, multiple highrise towers at Oakridge, increased density in Marpole and Grandview-Woodland, Little Mountain and the conversion of the scenic Cambie Heritage Boulevard into the glass-fronted Cambie Corridor. Vision Vancouver tell us that the plans for densification of Grandview-Woodland and elsewhere have been shelved until after the election. But after that? Who will have the loudest voice?
Remember voting on Nov. 15 is free. You don’t need to glad-hand during a $25,000 grand luncheon to make your voice heard.
Mark Stoakes,
Vancouver
