R.J. Aquino, a failed COPE council candidate in the 2011 civic race, beat another failed candidate, Tim Louis, for a position as the party's external chair in a 145to-141 vote at its annual general meeting Sunday.
Louis is part of a group within the party dubbed "Independent COPE" that opposes alliances with Vision Vancouver.
COPE was virtually knocked out of electoral politics last November-only Allan Wong won a trustee position. Critics like Louis blame its close ties with Vision Vancouver. The two parties ran a coordinated campaign, but only Vision elected all its candidates.
COPE's meeting drew a crowd of more than 300. Although controversy arose over last-minute membership sign-ups, both Aquino and Louis minimized divisions within the party, insisting it welcomes diverse opinions. "I'm excited," Aquino said Monday. "The executive represents the diversity of opinion of COPE's membership and I'm really looking forward to working with everybody to determine the party's future."
Aquino pointed out most candidates for the party's executive indicated they wanted to "move forward together." He doesn't understand why some see party members such as him as pro-Vision. "We've never outright said as a group that we're pro-partnership with Vision. What we do say is we're all about making sure that the party stays together and grows stronger," he said.
Louis said Monday the turnout for COPE's gathering was higher than the combined turnout at recent annual general meetings for Vision and the NPA.
"This is a very healthy sign and it's evidence, if there ever was any doubt, that the public hungers-the residents of Vancouver hunger for a true alternative party to the council we've currently got," he said.
Louis also maintains the party isn't divided and that the two factions have a "positive working relationship."
"Differences of opinion need to be celebrated, not demonized. Dissent should be celebrated not demonized. It should be welcomed that we have lots of different views within a big, healthy party," he said.
But Louis acknowledged he's worried COPE will align itself with Vision again in the next election. "[I'm] very concerned, but my view is not held by everybody. There's a lot of different views on that issue. I believe COPE should develop partnerships with our true partners-neighbourhood organizations, community activists and social movements-and not forced partnerships with partners that will never want what's in our best interests," he said.
He's nonetheless buoyed by interest in COPE's AGM.
"I feel great. If our turnout is that good after one of our worst defeats ever, we're going to do very well in 2014 if we learn from the past, if we learn from our mistakes, if we realize that the experiment was a failure," he said. "The experiment being the junior partner in a partnership where the senior partner is the NPA lite."
COPE's new 12-member executive includes Aquino, Sarena Talbot, Donalda Greenwell-Baker, Aaron Eddie, Kate Van MeerMass, David Chudnovsky, Richard Marquez, Kim Hearty, Anita Romaniuk, Tristan Markle, Wilson Munoz and Ifny Lachance.
noconnor@vancourier.com Twitter: @Naoibh
