Vancouver’s political revolution is rolling forward. Jean Swanson is running again for City Council! This follows from the political earthquake she caused in last November’s city by-election.
On June 9, at a rally at The Crescent in Shaughnessy, a Vancouver neighbourhood so tony it should be called Anthony, Jean Swanson announced she is a candidate in this autumn’s elections for all of Vancouver City Council. The launch was well attended and colourful, and gained widespread media coverage. Socialist Alternative has thrown our full support behind her, as we did in her by-election run in 2017.
Jean Swanson is a long-time social justice activist fighting poverty, to end homelessness and provide decent housing for low income people. She is well respected in Vancouver and beyond. She received the Order of Canada for her dedicated efforts, although she suggests serious action to tackle Canada’s deep poverty would be more meaningful recognition.
Swanson and the 2017 By-Election
Swanson ran in the 2017 by-election as an independent candidate, starting from scratch and a shoestring, amassed a formidable army of volunteers, including Socialist Alternative, that dominated the election. Swanson, and many of her team, were inspired by the example of Socialist Alternative’s councillor Kshama Sawant in Seattle, who came up to speak at a rally in support of Swanson. That campaign was marked by bold ideas that were based on what people need, rather than on what big business and the developers want. The campaign went out directly on the street and doorsteps to talk with people. The campaign had the highest visibility, the most energy, a large number of young people and the only one with momentum.
The campaign forcefully pulled Vancouver’s political discussion leftward. Voters, especially renters and young people, loved it. In a field of nine candidates, many on the well-funded and self-styled left, she ran a close second to Hector Bremner of the right wing, and very partisan, Non-Partisan Association (NPA).
In the election in October 2018 the aim is to get Swanson and hopefully others of a like-mind elected. In the by-election, Swanson had the backing of the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) and as a first step to winning this year, she aims to become one of COPE’s nominees for City Council.
Vancouver: Run by Property Developers
Vancouver council has been dominated by property speculators, realtors and developers. In 2002 this was decisively broken by COPE which won eight of the ten seats and the mayor. However a few years later a section of councillors, wanting to receive funds from developers and casinos and the polices that flowed from being bought (the rich do not donate to political parties, they buy influence), split to form Vision. The split allowed the NPA to win control in the 2005 election. In 2008 Vision took eight seats and the mayor with COPE taking two and the NPA one.
Vision moved steadily from the mild left to the centre and beyond, becoming a party loved by developers. Vision’s progressive credentials consist of building a network of bike lanes, not attacking municipal unions and becoming a living-wage employer.
The housing crisis, having fallen to the level of farce, has now reached tragic proportions. The city skyline has construction cranes everywhere, however, it is all for expensive condos – often built on the grave of former affordable rental units. House prices, rental costs, homelessness and overdose deaths are all at the heights of shame. The living standards of the city’s original Indigenous inhabitants are a disgrace. Even with the minimum wage up to $12.65 an hour on June 1, residing anywhere in Vancouver is, for many full-time workers, a financial impossibility.
Vision is now seen, including by the 89% of voters who cast ballots for other candidates last fall, as a party of lame ducks waddling from a sinking ship, having presided over a decade that has seen the city descending into several depths of crisis. The majority of the six Vision members on council (five councillors and the mayor) see the boat is sinking, with only two running for re-election. Even Vision’s increasingly hapless mayor, Gregor Robinson, could see the writing on the wall, so announced he would not be running for mayor.
After the election, the mayor’s chair will have a new occupant for the first time in a decade. Many council seats will also have new occupants after the most important election in Vancouver’s recent history, and perhaps of all time. This is the opportunity before Swanson, her supporters and the left in Vancouver.
There are negotiations, including ones led by the Vancouver and District Labour Council, in an attempt to forestall a victory of the right by uniting the left – COPE and a new organization called The City We Need, with the “left” – One City and the Greens, and the right-wing (with bike lanes) of Vision.
The City We Need
After last fall’s by-election, the activists of “Team Jean” decided that policies and platforms are more important than personalities that often dominate city politics. Based on Swanson’s campaign policies, a platform of economic and social initiatives was developed that is “The City We Need.” The aim is to build public support for these policies, aiming for 10,000 signatures by Labour Day. This public support and the strength of the policies will be used to get other candidates for mayor and council to endorse The City We Need. Already Anne Roberts, who previously served on council from 2002-2005, has stated her support as she seeks COPE’s nomination for the council elections.
The City We Need calls for a four-year city wide rent freeze for apartments and small businesses, an end to the jacking-up of rents between tenancies, and a ban on renovictions. A Mansion Tax on houses valued over $5 million would bring in $175 million a year which would pay for modular housing for all the homeless in the first year. In the following years it would go to build 4,500 truly affordable homes in each subsequent year (also a job creator).
Reconciliation With Substance would restore Indigenous lands and place names, and support indigenous arts, culture and languages.
Other policies include: property taxes would be raised on large corporations and lowered for small businesses; the minimum wage to be raised to the living wage of $20.62 per hour; clean and safe drugs will be made accessible to end the fentanyl epidemic of deaths; $10 a day child care will be introduced; and arts funding to be increased – especially to support affordable spaces for community art.
A key set of demands, especially given Trudeau’s purchase of the former Kinder Morgan pipeline, are around the environment. Swanson will provide powerful and meaningful support to the resistance to Trudeau’s pipeline.
The entire platform can be found at www.cityweneed.ca.
Jean Swanson has pledged that when elected she will only take the average wage of a worker, rather than the $80,000 city councillors receive, with the difference going to social, economic and environmental campaigns.
The campaign to build support for The City We Need has already started. If you live in Vancouver why not get involved? After all, it is working for the city you need too. In the autumn, the election campaign will be in full swing. There is lots to do and every person’s energy and ability is welcome.
The election of Swanson, and perhaps others, will shake Vancouver. It is part of the rising wave of radical politics as expressed by Sanders, Corbyn, Mélenchon and others. It will echo across Canada. If Vancouver can elect a real fighter for working people, renters and the poor, so can other cities.
