‘Serious concerns’ sideline Bremner’s NPA mayoral bid
The Non-Partisan Association’s blackballing of Hector Bremner as its mayoral candidate this week appears to have fractured the party and may have opened the door to a new outside threat come election day.
Bremner, a sitting Vancouver city councillor, was seen by many as the NPA’s front-running candidate, which made his rejection by the party’s board all the more intriguing. So, too, did strikingly different messages Tuesday as to what really happened.
“Tonight the NPA Green Light Committee, mandated with screening candidates, recommended that my name move forward as one of the candidates for the mayoral nomination,” Bremner wrote in a Facebook post.
“The board rejected their advice.”
NPA president Greg Baker, however, offered a different take.
“The Green Light Committee had serious concerns ... major concerns with Hector Bremner. So much so that they did not want to put it in writing, that they decided it was best to communicate this directly to the board, and they did so,” Baker said.
“The Green Light Committee chair made the recommendations and the board discussed those recommendations and decided not to green light.”
Baker would not say what the concerns of the committee were.
The NPA’s green light committee is mandated to “thoroughly review each prospective candidate using clearly defined standards and criteria” that reflect the values of the party, according to its terms of reference.
Among the criteria listed are attributes such as integrity, intelligence and leadership ability. The committee is also mandated with determining whether the prospective candidate acts in the public interest and whether they are “likely to encounter any real or perceived conflicts of interests should they be elected to public office.”
The committee makes a determination for each candidate and recommends either rejection or approval.
Baker said “there was no approval of (Bremner’s) candidacy,” written or verbal.
Asked whether the NPA was considering booting Bremner from the party given its concerns, Baker said caucus had to make that decision.
“I think it’s possible that Mr. Bremner would leave caucus. I’m not too sure what his decision is,” Baker said.
In the end, only three names made it past the NPA board: oldguard party member and park board commissioner John Coupar, political newcomer Ken Sim and Glen Chernen, who previously ran for mayor with the Cedar Party.
Bremner’s Facebook post went on to claim the board “was stacked,” raising the spectre the decision had been made to propel a favoured candidate to the lead position.
Mark Marissen, who headed Bremner’s campaign, tweeted a link to the post and characterized it as “reaction to the NPA’s Chernen-stacked board” decision.
“Vancouver’s NPA is unravelling,” he later added.
Baker rejected claims a particular candidate had taken control of the board, stating, “This is not accurate.”
Chernen said he has been a prospective mayoral nominee just like the others and has no control over the board.
“I wish all the candidates well, including the two who were not permitted to continue, and I would hope that the membership will all support the three NPA mayoral nominees, including myself, and the NPA in our bid to return Vancouver back to the people,” Chernen said.
Bremner has claimed to have signed up more than 2,000 members — a particularly strong block of support. Chernen, who took a run at the mayor’s office with the Cedar Party in the last election, is also said to have signed up a large contingent of supporters, but would not say how many.
Bremner said in a followup post on Facebook he would be meeting with members of his team to decide next steps, adding: “We will continue.”
Mario Canseco, a pollster with Research Co., said his latest numbers suggested Bremner had more name recognition than Coupar, Chernen or Sim.
“It’s kind of strange. It definitely seemed, at least for outside observers, that Bremner had a shot at this,” Canseco said.
“This creates an immense conundrum for all of the other contenders because Hector may decide to run as an independent. You could have Hector running as an independent, you could have Wai Young running for Coalition Vancouver, plus an NPA candidate. You usually have about 40 to 45 per cent of the vote going to centre-right forces. How is that going to be split?”
Until Tuesday, Adrian Crook was among those who were seeking an NPA nomination for a council seat. But citing the board’s “decidedly undemocratic rejection” of Bremner’s candidacy, he said he would no longer seek the nomination.
He said he was still interested in running for a council seat.
Listed as members of the NPA’s green light committee are Joe Sebestyen, David Mawhinney, Eli Konorti, Paul Barbeau and Gill Winckler with Ray Young as an alternate. Directors include Robert Boyd, Johnny Cheung, Erin Chutter, Lou Cruz, Federico Fuocco, Michael Lount, Wes Mussio, Franco Peta, Krissy Van Loon, Sarah Weddell, Natasha Westover and Terry Yung, according to the NPA website.