(Vancouver) – Mayor Gregor Robertson gathered with fellow Vision Vancouver candidates today to encourage voters heading to the polls Saturday to elect a strong, proven Vision Vancouver team that will focus on Vancouver's real priorities.
“I'm proud of the positive campaign that Vision Vancouver has run from start to finish, with a talented, diverse, and experienced team of candidates,” said Mayor Robertson. “We have proposed an ambitious agenda to continue working for positive change in this city, by taking on issues like housing and homelessness, safe streets, green leadership, economic vitality, support for the arts, livability, and better transit. After three years of hard work and results, I'm asking Vancouver to elect a strong Vision Vancouver team to keep moving Vancouver forward.”
Mayor Robertson also expressed concerns about the risk of voting for the NPA.
“Vancouver can't afford to roll the dice on the NPA or its divided roster of inexperienced candidates,” said Robertson. “Voters are right to be concerned that the NPA still refuses to tell us how they'll pay for their $400 million platform. They can't seem to agree on any coherent direction for our city.
“We need a strong Vision Vancouver team at City Hall, School Board, and Park Board to move Vancouver forward on voters' real priorities - making Vancouver greener, safer, more affordable and more livable.”
Over the course of this campaign, Mayor Robertson and the Vision team have proposed a positive platform of forward-looking steps to build on a proven three-year record of results. The NPA though has produced a $400 million platform full of unfunded spending promises and many policies on which the NPA's reckless, inexperienced candidates can't even consistently agree.
“In contrast to the NPA's reckless runaway spending promises and flip-flops, Vision Vancouver has a fully-costed and responsible plan for Vancouver’s future – and all of our candidates are proud to support it,” said Vision Council candidate Geoff Meggs. “Vision Vancouver needs a strong team elected at City Hall to immediately focus on priorities such as ending homelessness, ensuring better transit service, hiring more police officers, creating high-quality new jobs, and making Vancouver the greenest city in the world.”
Along with proven results on reducing homelessness and making Vancouver greener, safer, more livable, and more affordable, Vision Vancouver also has a proven record of competent fiscal management and sound economic stewardship for Vancouver. Under Vision, the City's debt outlook was upgraded by Moody's, Vancouver was recognized by KPMG as having the most competitive combined corporate tax rate of any major city, and Vancouver achieved the lowest 2011 overall property tax increase of any Metro Vancouver municipality.
“The choice in this election is between electing a strong, proven Vision Vancouver team that will provide responsible leadership on Vancouver's real priorities, or allowing Suzanne Anton to take us back to the days of NPA division, mismanagement, and drift,” said Vision council candidate Tony Tang. “Let's choose to move Vancouver forward, by voting for Gregor Robertson and a strong Vision Vancouver team.”
The Vision Vancouver platform, supported by all Vision candidates, can be found here.
Polls are open Saturday November 19th, from 8am to 8pm. More info at this link.
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