A spit decision: BCA loses stranglehold on council as Team captures four seats

By Dan Hilborn
Published Nov. 23, 2005


The Burnaby Citizens' Association's total domination at city hall has come to an end.

After 18 years of holding solid majorities on city council - including an 8-1 majority for the past three years - the BCA will have to learn how to share power with its Team Burnaby rivals after a surprising finish to the 2005 civic election.

While Derek Corrigan coasted to a 3,700-vote victory over challenger Andrew Stewart to take the mayor's chair, he will oversee a radically different city council, evenly divided between the left and the right.

Topping the polls were Team Burnaby candidates Lee Rankin and Gary Begin, who will be joined by Team's newcomers, Garth Evans and Barbara Spitz. The BCA will be represented by four incumbents: Pietro Calendino, Dan Johnston, Colleen Jordan and Nick Volkow.

Sav Dhaliwal, who previously served one term on council, finished out of the winners' circle at ninth place, three votes behind Spitz. It was announced on Tuesday morning that a recount would be held.

Corrigan, speaking at the BCA's election night party in the Alan Emmott Centre, said Team's "American-style negative campaign" was the primary reason why Dhaliwal lost his seat on council.

"I certainly have seen for the first time a vicious American- style campaign," he said. "It was successful, and they were able to scare people."

Corrigan also said the new council may find it difficult to work together.

"There will certainly be some bitterness over the way Team elected people," he said. "They lied and lied repeatedly.

"It'll be difficult to have people work together. I think they conducted a very shameful campaign. But it will certainly make it more interesting for the press," said the mayor.

Corrigan also said the 4-4 split on council will mean an increased role for himself. "Obviously, I have the deciding vote. So it will be more important for me to make decisions," he said.

Contacted again on Tuesday morning, Corrigan said the new council may be more "fractious" than in the past.

"It's always difficult to work with people when you don't trust their credibility," he said. "I'm hopeful they'll come in with a positive attitude but, at this point, I haven't seen anything but negative."

He also denied suggestions that having four members of Team on council might change the way the city does business.

"You have to remember that we're the responsible party," Corrigan said. "They just promised everything to everybody in order to try and win. They promised pretty well everything the city had. And what they didn't promise publicly, they promised privately.

"We'll also be as open and transparent and accountable as we have always been. The only concern I have is having seen the approach taken by Team during the campaign it doesn't bode well for them to be cooperative on council. I like to deal with the positive and to be optimisic about the future, so it will be very difficult if people are negative and attacking."

Meanwhile, Rankin, who garnered 1,500 votes more than his nearest BCA rival, credited his victory to old-fashioned hard work.

Rankin said that he believes the changed makeup of council will require a new attitude on the part of the mayor.

"I think it reflects the diversity of the community and I think that it may require the current mayor to show a little humility to those with differing views.

"Certainly there will be more diversity in the debates," he said. "This council in the past has had a great tendency towards groupspeak and groupthink."

Begin, who was initially nominated to run for school board until another Team candidate dropped out of the race in September, said he looks forward to working with the new council.

"It's very gratifying," Begin said. "I'm humbled to see the numbers, and I'll operate the way I always have - with the support of everyone.

"I'm not there to be a banshee. I'm there to make things work so the citizens get something," he added.

Evans, a rookie candidate who may have benefited from having the same last name as the recently retired councillor who used to top the polls (BCAer Doug Evans), said his priorities will be to work on social housing, a homeless shelter and in hiring 36 new police officers for the RCMP detachment.

Spitz said she looks forward to working alongside her longtime friend Begin, who used to serve on school board with her. Spitz also noted that she and Begin also graduated from Burnaby South secondary together, but she wouldn't reveal the exact year.

Despite the strong showing by Team Burnaby, its election night victory party was a relatively low-key affair. Stewart, the party's mayoral candidate, did not show up until after 9:30 p.m. - after this reporter had left to go to the BCA party - and its two winning school board candidates were also latecomers.

A surprise guest at the Team party was former federal Liberal party candidate Bill Cunningham, who said that all four of Team's winning council candidates were from the 'centrist' side of the slate.

Cunningham said the change in council's makeup bodes well for the city and its voters. "I think it shows the demographics of Burnaby have shifted and continue to shift," he said. "I also think a strong opposition is conducive to good decision-making."

Contacted on Monday afternoon, Team's mayoral candidate said he was having a tough time seeing the victory in having four members elected to council and two members voted onto the school board.

"I feel bad for my ... for the impact I personally probably brought to the team. But I still feel it's a good thing we managed to get some of our members elected," Stewart said. "I have a hard time feeling victorious myself.

"I'm pleased some of our people were elected, but we could have done better," he said. "I have to accept responsibility for that."

Stewart also said he believes the new council will be able to work together to accomplish most of its goals, although he held out little hope that a homeless shelter will be built within the next three years.

"It's been an experience," said Stewart, who believes that the last-minute revelations about his three-year-old impaired driving conviction were probably the main reason why Team was unable to win a majority.

When asked if he might run again, Stewart sounded discouraged but not completely disheartened. "That will be up to the executive of the party and the people on the street," he said. "It's too early for me to make that kind of decision. But I will continue to work in the community. It was embarrassing, but I'm slated to be in the Santa Claus parade on Saturday. I guess you just lick your wounds and get back up there."

The city parks dedication referenda passed with solid majorities despite a drop in support from previous years.

The Burnaby Mountain Conservation Area had 78.72 per cent approval, followed by Fraser Foreshore at 77.77 per cent, Byrne Creek at 75.63 per cent, the Capitol Hill conservation area at 74.89 and Squint Lake at 74.63.

MAYOR
Votes Percent Party

CORRIGAN, Derek 17,662 52.46% BCA
STEWART, Andrew 13,952 41.44% TEAM
TAO, Tom 1,120 3.33%

OVER VOTES 39 0.12%
UNDER VOTES 897 2.66%

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COUNCIL

RANKIN, Lee 16,736 TEAM
BEGIN, Gary 15,740 TEAM
CALENDINO, Pietro 15,032 BCA
JOHNSTON, Dan 14,523 BCA
JORDAN, Colleen 13,867 BCA
VOLKOW, Nick 13,601 BCA
EVANS, Garth 13,487 TEAM
SPITZ, Barbara 13,370 TEAM *
- - -
DHALIWAL, Sav 13,367 BCA *
CHIU, Jeffrey 13,321 TEAM
CHURCHILL, Ron 13,319 TEAM
McDONELL, Paul 12,095 BCA
ROOSA, Leslie 12,046 BCA
EYRE, Gary 11,902 TEAM
MYLES, David 11,826 BCA
HILFORD, Mark 11,532 TEAM
HARRIS, Nancy 5,075 IND.
CHISHOLM, Andrew 4,286 IND.
CHAMI, Parvin 2,642 IND.

OVER VOTES 696
UNDER VOTES 40,897

* RECOUNT ANNOUNCED