Former COPE city councillor Tim Louis wants to get his old job back. The former two-time councillor and two-term park board commissioner made the announcement he’s seeking the party’s nomination to run for city council again Thursday morning at a press conference held at the corner of West 6th Avenue and Burrard Street.
The location was chosen because he also wants the city to expropriate the Arbutus Corridor from CP, who are in tense negotiations over the abandoned rail line.
"I am here today at the Arbutus Corridor because once again Vision Vancouver has failed the citizens of Vancouver,” said Louis. “These lands were given to the CPR in the early 1900's on condition that CPR provide passenger service from Richmond to downtown Vancouver. CPR has failed to keep its end of the bargain for many years... It's time we put the Arbutus Corridor in the hands of the public.”
A lawyer and current COPE co-chair, Louis was first elected to city council in 1999 and was re-elected in 2002. He came in 17th place in the 2005 election. In the 2008 election, he narrowly lost by six votes to Ellen Woodsworth to win the left-wing party’s nod to run again for council. She along with incumbent David Cadman were then both elected to as part of a combined slate with the Green Party and the then-emerging Vision Vancouver.
COPE is the only party this election whose candidates will be decided entirely by members. Roughly 2,000 party members are eligible to cast votes for candidates Sept. 7 at the Japanese Hall (487 Alexander St.) The left-wing party currently has one announced mayoral candidate, Meena Wong, four other candidates vying for city council (Sid Tan, Audrey Siegl, Keith Higgins and John Yano), four for school board (Ralph Fraatz, Ilana Shecter, Diana Day and Kombii Nanjalah) and six for park board (Imtiaz Popat, Ezra Bloom Fulford, Anita Romaniuk, Jamie Lee Hamilton, Rick Orser and Urooba Jamal).
