Thursday, June 02, 2005

Vancouver -Burrard, You get what you voted for:

Good Luck to the Rest of You

Commentary:

I am just incensed about Mayencourt winning this riding,
what a joke. He stated that the outcome of this election has
humbled him. This guy couldn't be humble if his life depended
on it and in a sense it has. I hope the people who voted for
this schmuck and those who threw their votes away to other
parties feel humbled, because now they are stuck with this
fool for the next four years. I understand the principles
involved in the democratic process, people are free to vote
for who they want. But it is so disappointing to me that so
many people could not put aside their ideological points of
view to see that Mayencourt has demonstrated, by his own
questionable and media-driven antics, that he is a very,
very poor choice to represent the interests of a broad base
of constituents in this riding. A good portion of the
people in this riding, the homeless, were denied the
opportunity to participate in this democratic process,
(electoral rules clearly state you must provide an address,
or at least provide two pieces of ID, neither of which many
of the homeless have). I'm sure Mayencourt was happy
with those rules, since he likely wouldn't have stood a
chance with that group of constituents.

Before the count was even completed Mayencourt was
openly stating that he felt "abandoned" by the gay and lesbian
community. That is disgusting behaviour from one who claims
to advocate for and provide a voice for this riding and this group
of constituents.

Mayencourt is also the only candidates in the election
who was under investigation by a special prosecutor for an
incident likely involving one of his own constituents, during
the election. That is the kind of representative that a slim
majority have chosen in Vancouver-Burrard. I can see it's
business as usual for the the BC Liberal team. Since he is
a PR nightmare, I'd be very surprised if he gets any more
play than he did last time around. Maybe that's why he
stirs stuff up, doesn't want to be invisible?

So, it makes me wonder who in the hell in Vancouver-Burrard
voted for him? All I know is, I for one will be on him and his
mean, ignorant, poor-bashing drama queen theatrics for the
next four years.

*******************************************************
Recount in Vancouver/Burrard
June, 01 2005. CKNW.

VANCOUVER(CKNW/AM980) - A shift in the provincial
election results today. A recount has determined the
Liberals won the riding of Vancouver Burrard, not the
NDP as first thought. It was the tightest race in BC and
Elections BC Spokesperson Jennifer Miller says after
recounting all the election day ballots and adding 18-
hundred absentee ballots, the results are finally in.

"The candidate declared elected today is Lorne Mayencourt,
the BC Liberal party candidate. He has won by 18 votes ahead
of the NDP party candidate Tim Stevenson." But the slim
difference means Elections BC will automatically ask for a
judicial recount. By law, a date and place for that recount
must be set within 24 hours and the count itself can take
up to a week but if this result stands, the Liberals will hold
a 46-33 majority in the legislature.
*****************************************************
Vancouver-Burrard and Caucus Politics
David Schreck, (June 2, 2005).

Who is the winner in Vancouver-Burrard? After the "final count" BC Liberal
Lorne Mayencourt emerged 18 votes ahead of the NDP's Tim Stevenson.
The close race triggers an automatic judicial recount. It could switch either
way when that is done, but it would be unusual for a judicial recount to
change the outcome. So what difference does the close race mean?

It had to be tough for Stevenson who would have already participated in
two or three NDP caucus meetings in preparation for the next legislative
session. However, backed by Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell,
Stevenson remains a city counselor who could win another term in the
November municipal election....

Imagine Mayencourt in the same caucus with Wally Oppal. It could do
more damage to the Campbell Liberals to have Mayencourt in caucus than
it would do to have Stevenson in opposition.
******************************************************************************************

Mayencourt defeats Stevenson by 18 votes
CBC News, (June 1 2005).

VANCOUVER – More B.C. election results are in and
Liberal Lorne Mayencourt has been declared the
winner in Vancouver-Burrard.
Mayencourt had been trailing by 17 votes after a recount
on Monday. But after absentee ballots were counted
Wednesday, he finished 18 votes ahead of New Democrat
Tim Stevenson.

Mayencourt says he feels humbled by his narrow election
victory.
***************************************************
Final Count Results
Jun, 01 2005. CKNW.

VICTORIA(CKNW/AM980) - The final election count is in from
across the province. A little more than 75 thousand votes separate
the Liberals from the NDP - with the New Democrats getting 41
and a half percent of the vote, and the Liberals on top with 45.8
percent.Barring a judicial recount changing the result, the
Campbell government will total 46 members, while the NDP
will be at 33.The green party took in 9.18 percent of the vote,
less than in 2001. All other parties registered less than one percent,
including the Democratic Reform BC, which finished slightly ahead
of the Marijuana Party.
************************************************************
Premier on Recounts
June, 01 2005. CKNW

VICTORIA(CKNW/AM980) - Premier Gordon Campbell is
reacting cautiously to a suggestion that the rules around
electoral recounts be tightened up.
Elections BC spent thousands of dollars on a record seven
recounts and only one result changed.

The agency may recommend the government set some
limits on when a losing candidate can request one but
Premier Gordon Campbell is urging caution.

"This is a very important part of what we do in an open
and democratic society and you wanna err on the side of
caution, it seems to me on this, not on the side of speed."
Still, Campbell says he's willing to listen.

"There may be a sensible threshold that we can put in
place where everyone can agree that that makes sense
and we'll, you know, I certainly am open to those suggestions."
It costs up to 15-thousand dollars for each recount.

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