Nearly all the candidates in this election are describing themselves as "collaborative." I'm one of them. I want to write a bit about what it means to me, and what it would look like in reality.
I want to see less party politics, and more collaboration from all points of view to make the world better. At one point I got asked this bombshell: "Do you think it's possible?"
Two days ago, with days left in the candidate nomination process, Vision's mayoral candidate Ian Campbell dropped out of the race. Vancouverites have a lot of feelings about it, not unexpectedly—Vision has been a major party in Vancouver, likely most well known for the bike lanes and very tall buildings that have been put in during its tenure. This wild affordability crisis is often pegged on Vision as well, and I don't think the critics are entirely wrong. (I just also think that critics should be, but are often not, equally vocal about the provincial and federal government, who share a lot of responsibility for this mess). Anyway. My point for this entry is an observation about the reactions I got as a progressive candidate:
In correct chronology, this story begins with me swearing at Mr Fishtron, but to make sense of it, I'm going to jump ahead to this most recent Easter. On the Thursday before Easter, I receive this text from Mr Fishtron's mum: "I'm very worried that you are hoping for work time. Please don't bring work this holiday. It is only a few days. We would like to visit with you, share tasks, celebrate Easter together. Please let me know you get this." My reaction was defensive. We were planning the trip and had started packing. I ended up politely but bluntly saying, sorry, my work goes where I go. I ended up staying home with the dog and got some much-needed chores done while