What's with all this pretense between COPE and VV. They just want to eat each other alive. No matter how loyal COPE members try to appear to VV, they are not going to have a say in the mayoral nomination race, and they will soon be forced to support whoever VV picks, be it condo king or else.

By the way, Braeden Caley is a brilliant young man, but had he picked the right party, he could have done many wonderful things like James Moore did. I hope the best for him and the people he works for.

FHK,

While I am usually laudatory of your comments, this one is a tad off.....

Bob Rennie would be in conlfict every second day if he ran for public office in Vancouver specifically. He is an exceedingly bright, successful and pleasant fellow, who I admire very much. But his credentials do not lend themselves well to public office, as is, unless a blind trust, etc.

Vision's darling for Mayor will be none other than the Smoothie King, Gregor Robertson. Frustrated with Carole James' too-tight a control of party and caucus, he will opt-out of the stranglehold for greener pastures, for him, at Twelfth and Cambie. Sam he will trounce, if it's between the two of them. And Peter Ladner will come close, but it won't be enough. His Team Ladner needs a political enema.

As for the split between the left and the left, I would be more worried about the fact that both Ladner and Sullivan camps are about to brawl at the NPA AGM next week, with Ladner's "genius" organizers not even saving votes for incumbents, who are really the only independent Directors currently not on the Ladner slate.

And with Sam's implosion almost complete, will all be drinking Silent Sam very soon.

If the NPA doesn't get their act together, Capri and Anton will be the only returning NPAers, assuming Ladner is brave enough to run for the Mayoral nomination and wins it (which shouldn't be that difficult based on the disaster that Sam has been).

Vision will trounce anyone in their path with the current rate of incompetence and meddling (by the Mayor's Office) in NPA party affairs and the hardline dogmatic insanity still spweing from the COPE ranks, specifically Annie Roberts and Tim Guevera.

It's that simple, and the boo-birds can attack me all they want, I called it a long time ago. Nothing has changed, in fact, just gotten clearer to those previously doubtful because matters, particularly with Sam, are that much worse.

Mr Tsakumis, can I boil down your prognosis a little? In your view, Vancouver politics is controlled by real estate interests regardless of whether the political stripe is nominally left or right. Does that help to explain why Vancouver, despite having one third of Toronto's population and fewer head office jobs than Calgary nonetheless has the highest residential real estate prices in the nation? And why no one ever talks about changing that?

"Does that help to explain why Vancouver, despite having one third of Toronto's population and fewer head office jobs than Calgary nonetheless has the highest residential real estate prices in the nation? And why no one ever talks about changing that?"

It would idiotic for any govenrment to control
real estate prices.

Budd, the answer is obvious.

It's market forces that drive real estate prices
not head office jobs.

Even your NDP wasn't dumb enough to bring in price controls on the real estate housing market.

The simple reason is demand.

Demand drives up prices, if supply cannot meet demand.

Quite simply, people want to live here. Many didn't want to live here when the NDP was in power, but they do now.

Where would Budd like to live? Either here in
beautiful Vancouver or Back East in ugly T'ranna?

Heck even our hockey team is better than theirs.

How many times, Buddmeister, must I ask you to call me Alex...everytime someone says Mr. Tsakumis, I turn around looking for my father.....

And you're absolutely right...what else was going on in Vancouver? Jesus Murphy, Jabba Jim Green is on retainer at Westbank Properties. Sam's biggest backers are either developers or directly connected to them. Any other game in town with a vested interest? You can sell stocks anywhere, it doesn't have to be on the waterfront...so it's the soil tillers all the way down the line.....

Look, I'm from a development background (almost all I built was down South though), but I tell the truth about this issue, without fear or favour. Larry Beasley (and those councils that backed him to the hilt) should be ashamed to have over-built downtown Vancouver, in my opinion. If even five percent of those people who have moved in, en bloc, en masse, decide they want to buy a car, say good-bye to moderate sanity and say hello to in-your-face-gridlock...it's already happening and not a peep from anyone on council.

I guess global warbling just appeared spontaneously.....pretty pathetic, I say. We can all agree the environment needs care, but we pull stunts like what's happened downtown, and it makes me wonder...

Budd, we are in agreement, old boy. Pick your poison and I'm there. You've grown on me.

Vincent, Vincent, Vincent....tsk, tsk, tsk.....

You ever heard of creating a market? Of course not. Downtown Vancouver became highly desirable because it's, as you point out a "hot" place to live.....but it's how you build a city that matters...that's why Sam's Eco-Duncity can't work. Get it? How will you moderate neighbourhoods, without hurting them, when you have allowed the core to run wild?

Budd's perspective is good to go on this one.
Don't be so fast to run to the defence of your beloved VV blanket, blythly, blindly.

Linus might set a match to it.....

"You ever heard of creating a market? Of course not."

It might surprise you Alex, that I have and so have quite a few others. Your concept isn't new.

For real estate, That's what developers like you, sellers like Rennie are for. Find it, create a market for it, sell it, build it, and pocket the difference between cost of construction (add in your paycheque too) plus cost of marketing (in other words paying the desk fee to Rennie) and selling price.

It's up to Rennie and your marketing to convince me that your fancy wooden box is worth buying over someone else's wooden box.

Tone down the arrogance, kid.

$150 per ticket, and since this is local politics, not federal or provincial, it's not receiptable and doesn't qualify for a tax credit. Somebody is serious about access!

Of course they're serious Budd, but will it go anywhere???

Other than Gregson (who I admire very much for her stellar performance as a School Trustee), who was there that will ring anyone's electoral bell next go around?? Woodcock is occasionally palatable, Cadman hasn't been particularly effective this council, and Herbert, well, ah, think of your dog in the park, and, ah, well, ah.....

Must be tough for Cadman, working the room at a VV fundraiser. Kind of like going to an ex-wife's birthday party -- she's all smiling and the centre of attention, getting all the nice gifts, but all along you know that you introduced her to half of her friends and paid for that nice dress she's wearing.

I'll not hold my breath for the Vision-COPE remarriage, thank you very much.

"Kind of like going to an ex-wife's birthday party...all along you know that you introduced her to half of her friends and paid for that nice dress she's wearing."

I like your analogy, MuniciPolly - but more accurately, she's wearing the dress she worked darn hard to earn, working a full-time job AND raising the kids AND years of cleaning up after her ex. She's earned her place in the sun and something nice to wear.