Municipal Taxes are in!

District taxes for 2013 arrived  a few days ago and are up an average of 2.5%. Bank of Canada says the inflation rate is 0.04%.
Message from the Mayor

What happened with the May 14 Provincial election?

Now that the dust has settled since the provincial election many questions come to mind as to why the opposite result occurred from what the pre-election polls suggested.  Was it that Christie was a far better campaigner than Adrian?  Was it that somehow the NDP forgot that the majority of people do not study or get involved in politics, they only pick up on that which immediately and directly affects them.  Did they forget that that there comes a time when you must fight fire with fire?  The NDP had a tonne of material to go after the Liberals with, but they used little if any of it until it was too late.  Was it the low voter turnout and the pre-election polls that caused the NDP's own people not to get out and vote?  It doesn't help that the third party, splitting votes, is now the Green party.  In North Van-Lonsdale for instance had there been no Green Party candidate, it is far more likely  NDP candidate Craig Keating would now be an MLA. Perhaps it's just because the NDP doesn’t have a Dave Barrett or Bob Williams to respond and provide effective opposition, and until they do they may remain as the opposition indefinitely. 

As leader of the BC NDP, I take full responsibility for this defeat. We didn't win. And disappointment doesn't begin to describe how that feels." 

- Adrian Dix, May 22, 2013

North Vancouver Politics.com goes with Google Account option

The decision to go with the Google account option is a compromise and is the middle ground on the anonymous comment issue. The other option was Registered ID only. The Google account option is still a very anonymous setting for those concerned about identity. All you have to do is have a gmail account and use any name that you want that is available.

Just go to  https://www.google.com/ to set up a gmail account.

Municipal Election Finance Reform Petition Launch

http://nvcityvoices.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/cityhallwatch-launches-petition-for-municipal-election-campaign-finance-reform-get-big-money-out-of-civic-politics/

The Blog ponders the anonymous comment

With comments at an all time low, but viewership still relatively high  'The Blog' has decided to remove the anonymous comment option.  There has been much discussion here in the past as to whether the option to post anonymously is good or bad with the argument mostly split between ID posters and anonymous posters. Realizing many good comments have been made by anonymous', but also hearing from ID posters that they think the playing field is uneven and that they will no longer comment because of it, going forward the option to post anonymously will no longer be an option

Can a New Democrat Win in North Van-Seymour this time around?

Jim Hanson seems like too good a candidate for the NDP to squander in a solid-Liberal riding.
He's a founding partner in Surrey-based Hanson Wirsig Matheos, the firm representing the Queen of the North survivors and other clients seeking compensation from powerful organizations. He has law degrees from UBC and Oxford; his wife is a successful realtor, and at 52 he routinely runs in marathons.  Read more. . .

Parkgate All Candidates Meeting proved to be a lively one

Independent Candidate Jaime Webbe and NDP Candidate Jim Hanson seemed to be favoured by the audience at this meeting of 'most' of the candidates for North Vancouver-Seymour for next week's May 14 Provincial Election.  BC Green Party Candidate Daniel Smith was absent again as it appears the Greens just want a name on the ballot come E-day. It was a lively and spirited debate among the candidates and one of the better ACM meetings I have attended over several elections. The main debate fell between BC NDP Candidate Jim Hanson and BC Liberal incumbent Jane Thornthwaite while BC Conservative Candidate Brian Wilson played a 'maverick' role in the discussions.  I believe this is going to be a very close race between Thornthwaite and Hanson unlike many previous elections when the Liberal candidate could have been in their death bed and still win the election in North Van-Seymour. May 14, Election Day should very interesting here in NV-S for a change!