US embassy cable - 05VANCOUVER1502

UNCLAS VANCOUVER 001502 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/CAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, CA 
SUBJECT: CENTRIST SULLIVAN WINS MAYORAL RACE IN VANCOUVER 
 
1. (U) Begin Summary: Sam Sullivan of the Non Partisan 
Association defeated Jim Green of Vision Vancouver by a margin 
of less than four thousand votes in the city's mayoral elections 
on Nov. 19.  The race, part of British-Columbia-wide municipal 
elections, saw the return of the centrist NPA to dominance 
city-wide, capturing the council, schools and park board.  End 
Summary. 
 
2. (U) The NPA, the city's ruling party for 70 years, had been 
shut out of office from 2002-2005 by the left-leaning Committee 
for Progressive Electors (COPE).  It returned to power on the 
coattails of Sullivan, longtime city councilman who fought for 
the rights of the disabled and favored fiscal austerity 
(Sullivan was left quadrapalegic after a skiing accident at age 
19).  COPE had also been hurt by internal divisions that lead to 
a split and the creation of Vision Vancouver, the party of 
outgoing Mayor Larry Campbell and Jim Green, his protigi. 
Green, an American who fled to Canada to avoid the draft during 
the Vietnam War, developed a reputation for being strongly 
pro-union and made his mark as a poverty activist in the city's 
Downtown Eastside. 
 
3. (U) Not surprisingly, voting patterns fell heavily along 
economic lines, with two out of three voters without a high 
school diploma and a majority of households with incomes under 
$20,000 casting a ballot for Green.  Those who supported the 
far-left New Democratic Party (NDP) also voted heavily for 
Green.  In contrast, Sullivan's support reached into the upper 
middle class and more broadly across the political spectrum, 
with a majority of Conservative (79%) and Liberal (62%) voters 
preferring the NPA.  Nevertheless, voters cited the personality 
of the candidate as their top election issue, according to exit 
polls. 
 
4. (U) The presence of another candidate named James Green (as 
opposed to Jim Green) on the ballot (who finished third with 
over 4,000 votes) and the confusion that resulted appear to have 
swung the vote in Sullivan's favor.  However, others argue that 
the city's large Chinese community may have held the key to 
Sullivan's success given his fluency in Cantonese.  Exit polling 
suggested that roughly 14,000 out of 19,000 Chinese voters opted 
for Sullivan.  Though many are not registered, residents of 
Chinese descent comprise about 1/3 of the city's population. 
LUKENS