Running for the Work Less Party

At the end of August I was cornered at a social event by some of my heroes, Betty Krawczyk, Chris Shaw and Conrad Schmidt. Since it was Betty's 80th birthday party how could I refuse their invite to run for the Work Less Party in the upcoming Vancouver civic elections ? It was at this same party I saw Rafe Mair [radio host former Socred] informally bantering with Charles Boylan [radio host and Marxist-Leninist]. Well I thought if those two political worlds can meet in appreciation of Betty K, I certainly would be amenable to running civically.

I have run in elections before, notably the 2001 and 2005 BC provincial elections. I did reasonably well, the first time I ran I got scores of media attention, the second time I ran I hardly got any. This time around I am unlikely to get much in the way of media, although Betty [who is running for Mayor] and Chris [who is running for council will probably garner the most media scores.

The WLP are an interesting bunch of people. Started by Conrad Schmidt, the party has run civically and provincially, 2008 marks their first run federally. Conrad is a great philosopher and his book "Workers of the World Relax" is a great read and highly recommended. This civic election see's the party with a stunningly "green" platform. Written by Chris Shaw [who wrote the Green Party platform in 2005] and Geri Tramutola; the platform runs the gamut of practical advice for downward spiraling economies, natural disasters whilst at the same time how to put the "fun" back in to Vancouver.

There are numerous issues within the WLP platform that other parties simply will not touch; such as moving towards a self sustaining city that relies heavily on community gardens that pushes out big box stores. The platform identifies five areas of importance: waste management, arts and culture, transit, crime and housing. Each area receives detailed analysis with specific suggestions on how to deal with the various issues that have arisen in regard to them.

One of my favourite sections is the "community gardens" section. The WLP emphasis on community oriented gardening and the removal of red tape opens the doors for increased food safety via locally grown, organic food production across the city. The more community gardens we have the safer we will be.

So it is my pleasure to run for the WLP. I would be great if some of the recently rejected candidates from VISION and COPE would take a look at the WLP, the WLP is far more green than any other political entity on the Vancouver civic scene and for this BC Green Party candidate that is a whole lot more green for all of us.