Some context, please, Mr. Horgan

Housing affordability and its associated issues, including "demo-victions," comprise one of the most pressing economic and social issues in the Lower Mainland. Little wonder, then, that the opposition New Democrats have mounted a campaign for more government action on the problem.

BlueSky's proposed development on Foster, east of Clarke.

It might help their cause, however, if they picked a more suitable example of demo-viction malfeasance than the one they highlighted in Coquitlam earlier this week.
In fact, the example they showcased, the big BlueSky Properties Inc. development on Foster Ave. in Burquitlam, could and should be held up, not as a dramatic example of corporate greed and provincial government inaction, but as a heartening example of corporate responsibility, successful community engagement, and enlightened municipal policy.
Here's the story.
As part of its housing-affordability campaign, the New Democrats staged a press conference earlier this week against the backdrop of the aging apartments in Coquitlam that will be demolished to make way for the BlueSky development at North Road and Foster Avenue.
Supported by NDP MLA Selina Robinson and one-time NDP candidate and current Coquitlam Councillor Chris Wilson*, NDP leader John Horgan pointed out that the apartments are slated for demolition to make way for condo towers that are coming as part of the densification of Burquitlam now happening in anticipation of the arrival of the Evergreen Line early next year.
With reportedly scant reference to the specific details of the BlueSky redevelopment, Mr. Horgan declared, "People and families are scrambling to find affordable rental housing here in Coquitlam and across the Lower Mainland, and they aren't getting any leadership from Christy Clark. People want to know why the Christy Clark government has not acted to protect renters and increase the number of rental homes in this overheated property market."
Fair enough comment on the provincial level. But, on the municipal level, the suggestion that old rental buildings are demolished with little regard for the future of the tenants is completely off base.
In fact, the BlueSky development is notable for the developer's care and attention to ensure that the renters in the existing 112 units are cared for. The company's commitment to this was so thorough that the development proposal won the support of both the Burquitlam Community Association and the Tri-Cities Homelessness and Housing Task Group.
The 873-unit project will eventually comprise three condo towers boasting 816 for-sale units (many of which will, of course, be put on the rental market) and a purpose-building, five-storey, 57-unit rental building, in which rents will be similar to the rents in the existing complex. (Please click here to read the full Coquitlam staff report on the project.)
Furthermore, with Coquitlam's Transit-Oriented Development Strategy and (then-old but since-updated) Housing Affordablity Strategy guiding them, city officials worked with BlueSky to ensure that several other important steps were taken to assist in the relocation of the existing renters who would not find space in the new rental building or one of the condos. The company:

• Hired an on-site rental relocation coordinator.
• Instituted ongoing communication and meetings with tenants, including relocation information.
• Provided tenants with a six-month eviction notice, rather than the provincially required two months.
• Promised to waive multiple months' rent, rather than the one-month required by law. Two months' rent would be waved if the tenant relocates within four months of receiving notice; three months' waved if relocation takes place between four and six months after notice is served.
• Offered any tenant or member of their immediate family the opportunity to purchase a unit within the BlueSky, or any Bosa Properties development, with 12 months' worth of rent going towards the down-payment on their new home.

The press release accompanying Mr. Horgan's news conference said he believes, "fair tenant relocation policies are needed, and the province should lead. Standards for requiring relocation plans for tenants and replacing demolished units need to be in place around the province, not just in some communities."
Fair enough.
But it would have been infinitely more informative (if somewhat less dramatic) for him to have pointed out that the "fair tenant relocation policies" he is calling for already exist in the very community in which he chose to voice his concerns.

(*Unlike Mr. Horgan, Mr. Wilson provided some contextual background to at least one news outlet, as evidenced by this story.)

Christy Clark's secret weapon

Christy Clark: A woman's edge? (Photo by Terry O'Neill)

It's taken until this long weekend for some of the best post-BC-election analysis to emerge, but I'm wondering if there's still something missing.
First, though, Brian Hutchinson in Saturday's National Post and Michael Smyth in Sunday's Province have provided extremely interesting insights into how the Liberals' superior polling told them that their dual focus, on Adrian Dix's doubtful leadership abilities and the NDP's potentially harmful economic and environmental policies, was working.
Indeed, both writers report that chief pollster Dimitri Pantazopoulos told party leaders four days before the election that the BC Liberals were on track to win 48 seats; currently, their total stands at 50. Just a few hours ago, a piece by the Canadian Press's Dirk Meissner shows how oblivious the NDP were to their looming electoral catastrophe.
Apparently, the NDP's own polling data had them winning--and winning big. The party did not realize that Dix's campaign was falling flat on its face and that Dix's mid-campaign reversal, in which he announced his opposition to the Kinder Morgan pipeline expansion, was a big vote loser. (Smyth dubs Dix's announcement as the "Kinder surprise." Nice!)
I was pleasantly surprised when I heard, on election night, from a construction-industry acquaintance of mine that the shop steward at his operation had urged his fellow blue-collar union member not to vote for the NDP because their policies would kill economic growth in the province. This is something I've long believed, but had not appreciated the fact the message had gotten through to workers.
I have to think that some of this must be credited to Barbara Yaffe's tremendous mid-campaign Vancouver Sun column, "All green economy would bleed red,"  in which she itemized, in what the NDP must have considered excruciating detail, the many resource-related and other development projects the party opposed.
It's also emerging that voters didn't think Dix projected a leadership-type aura. Personally, I've seen him speak several times and was always impressed by his grasp of policy, the ease with which he can recall facts and figures, and the eloquent way he speaks.  However, he also comes across as rather goofy sometimes; this never bothered me, but it apparently bothered a great many voters, especially those who saw him during the campaign's lone televised debate, in which he was slouching and looked rather shabby.
And much has also been made about what a campaign-trail trooper Christy Clark was: about her charisma, her energy and her ability to connect with people. The lone time I saw her in person over the past month was at a late-in-the-campaign, early-morning stop at the office of Coquitlam-Maillardville B.C. Liberal candidate Steve Kim.
Clark was on message and on fire, taking time not only to rally the troops and deliver key election messages, but also to warmly greet some moms and school kids who showed up for the event. At the time, I wondered why the Liberals were bothering to deploy their leader in a riding that was "obviously" and "clearly" one they had no chance of winning. Ha! How wrong I was! (Actually, the end-of-month final count, in which absentee ballots will finally be counted, could reverse the outcome in Coquitlam-Maillardville. I'm predicting that Kim's lead over the NDP's Selina Robinson will, at the least, be cut. A full recount is likely.)
This last anecdote about Clark's ability to connect with people leads me to an observation about the BC Liberals' win that no one that I am aware of has yet to express, and that's that another factor in the victory might have been Clark's gender. It's not something I'm necessarily proposing myself, but it must be noted that recent political research in the U.S. shows that, essentially, voters are more likely to support a woman than a man.
The May edition of The Atlantic has an interesting item about this subject. Here are a few of the most pertinent sections:
"Evidence suggests that [anti-female] double standards may have once applied but don't any longer.... [Voters] tend to assume women are more trustworthy, less corruptible, and more in touch with everyday concerns... [Women] are harder to criticize than men. Sharp-edged attacks, particularly by male rivals, risk running afoul of the societal bias against, essentially, hitting a girl."
The latter declaration suggests that, even if the NDP had decided to launch attack ads against Clark, to counter the BC Liberals' attack ads against the NDP and Dix, those ads might very well have backfired.
And so, it may well be that the NDP was a "dead party walking" even as the campaign began.

Horne stands with Clark

You might have seen a story in yesterday's Coquitlam Now, headlined with the declaration that BC Liberal MLA Doug Horne was refusing to support Premier Christy Clark. The exact words were, "Horne won't back premier." I was quite surprised to see those words, and in carefully reading through the text of the story, I concluded that there was a strong possibly Horne had been misunderstood.

Today, Horne, who represents the riding in which I live, made it clear that he continues to support Premier Clark. He has now released the text of a letter he has sent to the editor of the Now, setting the record straight. Given the import of this issue, I have concluded that it would be in the public interest for me to share the full text with readers of this blog, so here goes:

Horne released this photo today to show his support for Clark

I feel that it is important for me to set the record straight and clarify my position. The headline that appeared on the front page of Wednesday’s NOW is misleading and simply not true. I do support Premier Christy Clark and our Party. I am and will be the BC Liberal Candidate for Coquitlam – Burke Mountain. Based upon my record of service to our community, including the Evergreen Line, new and expanded schools, more beds at Eagle Ridge Hospital and funding for local arts, sports and community organizations , I hope to be re-elected May 14^th and have the privilege to continue to serve as your MLA in Victoria.

Douglas Horne, MLA Coquitlam – Burke Mountain