It looks like the political balancing act the Mayor has been pulling off for the past several years may be coming to an end.
Sources have told Voice New Westminster that the District Labour Council has made a decision to run their own mayoralty candidate in the next civic election rather than support Wayne Wright as they’ve done behind the scenes in the past three elections.
Voice has also learned that one of the District Labour Council city councillors approached the mayor to sound him out on what it might take for him not to run again and potentially split the Labour Council’s vote.
No word on what the mayor’s response was to the offer, but it’s clear that the District Labour Council has definitely decided to go with their own candidate this time around.
The extent of the growing rift between the mayor and the District Labour Council first surfaced during the last civic election when the mayor ran as part of two slates with a total of 7 councillor candidates vying for 6 council seats.
Reportedly, the mayor did ask the District Labour Council to drop one of their councillor candidates to make the arithmetic work but they refused.
On election night, one of the mayor’s running mates from his “non District Labour Council” slate (already hurt politically by suggestions of a conflict of interest over a real estate deal) ended up being the odd man out when the votes were tallied and only the mayor and his four person District Labour Council slate had been elected (plus two incumbent councillors running under the Voice banner).
The District Labour Council are also said to be unhappy with the mayor’s handling of issues relating to the high school site and the fact that the mayor has apparently cut the District Labour Council members out of the loop.
The District Labour Council’s strong ties to the unions and their ideological bent is also said to be a point of conflict, as is the mayor’s reported backroom wheeling and dealing with developers.
The District Labour Council apparently want to be the ones calling the shots with developers and clearly they’re feeling strong enough, or perhaps disenchanted enough, to go their own way this time around.
Only time will tell if this is just speculation on the part of our sources or whether things play out as they've been described to us.
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12 comments:
Ah, so the Mayor unwittingly engineers his own demise.
He has been sucking up to both extremes in the political spectrum.
The scenario at the last election where he tried to be part of two slates was a bit much. It cost his puppet councillor his job.
The nutbars on the extreme left controlled by the DLC, want nothing to stand in their way as they conduct their ideological social re-engineering agenda.
Interesting.
I never could figure out what this Mayor stood for, in terms of philosophy or core beliefs. Oh yeah right, development, high-rises.
When I talk to him, which is not often, he sounds like he gets his ideas from reading T-shirts and bumper stickers - sort of like a Forrest Gump approach to like.
Except for, Forrest Gump had some ethics that you could discern.
Mayor Wright has foolishly fed the monster and now the monster is feasting on him. If we think our propoerty taxes are high now just wait until the labour council takes total control of this city and the community has no say in city affairs whatsoever.
Great! Maybe one of the, as you call them, DLC councilors will run for mayor and we can have a mayor that has some social concerns.
To "Finally said",
You stated, "we can have a Mayor who has some social concerns."
What is puzzling is why did the DLC and CUPE support this shallow current Mayor? I am looking right now at a piece of paper, sent by CUPE, that says "These candidates deserve your Support". It lists the DLC/CUPE School Board slate and the Council slate. In the same envelope we find a 2 inch strip of paper outlining support for the Mayor.
Now after three elections you have come to the conclusion that you need somebody with social concerns?
Three terms of a developer controlled agenda, and you finally have come to the conclusion that this guy is an embarrassment?
This latest initiative is all about power, principles be damned.
I've been saying this would happen from day one. I'm only surprised that it went on for this long.
This move by the Gang of Four, led primarily by two ideologues, is more about power politics than anything else. They have used the Mayor to their own advantage. They now find his pragmatic, scatterbrain approach inconsistent with what they stand for. So they're done with him.
The more CUPE and CUPE supported members on Council and School Board, the richer the contracts for Civic and School Board union workers. Of course that means higher costs for taxpayers, and those without those rich tax payer supported pensions. Why wouldn't the DLC want to bargain contracts with their own?
I know how to end the seemingly endless process going on between the City and the School Board.
My solution is to have the School Board make a $5000.00 donation to the Mayor's campaign fund. The School Board will then get anything they ask for.
Sure seems to have worked for others.
He is sucking up to big business! And unions! And residents! He is in the pocket of entrepreneurs and young families! Run for the hills!
So you say he did not receive funding from a labour group but they endorsed him anyway? (or maybe not because they are running against him now?)
So is it that the Mayor enjoys broad support from many facets of society but that those on the extreme right and left of the political spectrum dont support him? I think that is what you are saying here; right?
Will the one who is not afraid, get thee to a coffee shop and smell the beans dude! I can't read broad support in this blog! Maybe in your blog world. As you can read your about the only broad supporter around. Seems with all the blogging you have been doing lately, it's clear you have broad support from the Mayor and council. So are you the 'internet' blog mouth for this city's disfunctional leadership? Have you looked at how much this Mayor has spend during his 'reign' and what it will cost residents for years to come. Have you looked at how many "vision projects" remain unfinished. Have you noticed the slummy areas of New West or are you blinded by the development? Are you really this ignorant to the other side of New West? It must be nice to feel safe when you find no fault with the current environment by making such ridiculous comment. Try eating like an adult and start investigating instead of enjoying the pacifier or being spoon fed by words out of city hall.
Will,what on earth are you referring to? Many of the assertions you make simply are not mentioned or touched on in the post.
Residents? Entrepreneurs? Young families? I can't speak for the post, but my impression varies vastly from yours
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