The Non-Partisan Association’s Kirk LaPointe made it one of the most exciting mayoral races in the city’s recent history, but ultimately lost in a squeaker to two-term Vision Vancouver incumbent Gregor Robertson in Saturday’s municipal elections.
Once the results became clear, LaPointe entered the ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver to the tune of Tom Petty’s I Won’t Back Down and a standing ovation from about 250 cheering party members.
While he suffered a personal defeat, he noted that the NPA had improved its standing on council, school board and park board and was once again part of the conversation in civic politics.
The unofficial election results gave the NPA three of 10 seats for councillor, a controlling four of seven spots on park board, and four of nine on school board.
LaPointe personally congratulated Robertson for a strong campaign, and when several people booed, he said: “No, no, I wish him well.” He said the NPA was up against a “tremendous machine” and fought its way to a point of contention.
“Nobody gave us any kind of chance. Even my dog didn’t like being walked by an underdog,” he joked.
He also urged the mayor and his Vision Vancouver team to be more transparent, to consult with communities, and to build coalitions and partnerships to overcome a political divide in the city.
LaPointe, a former journalist and political neophyte, later told reporters that the NPA must become a permanent political force and not just gear up at election time. “There is a real challenge when we’re not a full-time actual political party — when you’re up against one,” he said. “I often likened it to being an alumni reunion society, where it kind of gets together at election time.”
Asked if he would have done anything different in the campaign, he said: “I think getting our policy together at an earlier stage and me being comfortable in selling it.
“It’s my first time running. It’s like saying, when you’re a rookie in training camp, ‘what do you think of playing with the big boys and how well are you doing?’ I’m the last person to judge that.”
LaPointe added he plans to put politics “in the rear view mirror” and has zero interest in running as a candidate in, say, the forthcoming federal election. “I recognize it comes with a physical, emotional toll, and I’m not sure I want to experience that any time soon.”
Viewed as a long shot at the start of the campaign, LaPointe worked his way up through the opinion polls from a double-digit deficit to just a four-point spread with one week to go in what was a bitter contest characterized by attack ads on both sides.
The 56-year-old Toronto-born LaPointe hammered away at issues such as lack of transparency at city hall, Robertson’s failure to adequately consult neighbourhoods, and for appearing to give a commitment not to contract out jobs in exchange for donations from city unions — an assertion that prompted Robertson and fellow councillor Geoff Meggs to counter with a law suit.
Vision Vancouver cited Robertson’s lack of political experience and the fact he lives at UBC and not within Vancouver’s city limits.
Robertson, the former New Democratic Party MLA, issued an apology on Wednesday to voters whose expectations he did not meet, while acknowledging he had alienated some voters with his aggressive green and affordable housing agenda.
The NPA ran a radio ad only hours later. “Do you want four more years of sorry?” LaPointe said in the ad. “Six years in, Gregor Robertson says sorry. He didn’t listen to you. He didn’t do right by you. He wants a third chance! It is an act of desperation.”
Robertson also urged the electorate not to split the left-of-centre vote by supporting the Coalition of Progressive Electors, led by Meena Wong, the party’s the first mayoral candidate since 2002.
LaPointe had been working as publisher at Self-Counsel Press and as an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of B.C. His earlier positions have included CBC ombudsman and managing editor of The Vancouver Sun.
