Mayor confident in race with Team Burnaby challenger

By DAN HILBORN, 24 HOURS NEWS SERVICES
Published September 19, 2008

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan is sounding confident and scrappy after the relatively unknown Andrew Chisholm was named as his Team Burnaby challenger for the upcoming Nov. 15 civic election.

Corrigan said the selection of Chisholm, who is president of a property management firm, indicates a lack of confidence in Team Burnaby’s longest serving elected representative, Lee Rankin, who was previously rumoured to be interested in running for the mayor’s chair.

“I’m deeply disappointed,” Corrigan said. “I would have hoped that he (Rankin) would have showed more courage after having been such a critic and obstructionist at council.”

Rankin, who has served 22 years on Burnaby council, admitted that he seriously considered taking another run at the mayor’s chair, but said his law practice and young family took priority. “My goal in politics is to affect change, and to do that, you need teamwork,” Rankin said. “It’s not about individuals.”

Chisholm, who ran independently for council in 2005, said Team will bring a non-partisan attitude back to a city that has elected majorities from the NDP-affiliated Burnaby Citizens Association since the early 80s. Of the 16 Team candidates, only Rankin and council hopeful Anna Terrana, a former Liberal MP, have previous elected experience.

http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2008/09/19/6816356.html