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12th & Cambie: NPA votes against motion to ban 'big money'

There's a reason I don't like to gamble. It's because I never win. But I really didn't think it was a gamble to predict that Vision Vancouver Coun.

There's a reason I don't like to gamble.

It's because I never win.

But I really didn't think it was a gamble to predict that Vision Vancouver Coun. Andrea Reimer's motion to get the big money out of civic politics would get unanimous support Wednesday.

After all, Vision, the NPA and COPE previously entered into a tri-party agreement to call on the provincial government to introduce spending limits, a ban on union and corporate donations and other measures that would conceivably allow independents to get elected in this town.

But then the NPA's George Affleck had a look at the motion and didn't like what he read. So he and his NPA colleague, Elizabeth Ball, voted against it.

Why?

"Because it puts it at the whim of any political party at any time to change and revise election campaign finance rules," Affleck said. "It politicizes campaign finance."

Affleck said the issue should be left with the provincial government, which has promised to implement sweeping changes that includes spending limits for civic campaigns.

He added the provincial government has already said it's not going to allow a Vancouver-only set of rules for civic campaigns. And, he continued, banning union and corporate donations would only give rise to American-style so-called "super PACs," or political action committees, that raised millions in the recent U.S. election.

By the way, still waiting for developer Robert Macdonald to get in touch and ask him what he thought about Reimer's motion. Macdonald was the same guy who donated almost $1 million to the NPA in the 2011 campaign and put up office space for the party's election headquarters.

The next civic election is in the fall of 2014.

EARNING CURVE

The Statement of Financial Information for Metro Vancouver is out! The Statement of Financial Information for Metro Vancouver is out!

Wow, exciting news!

Why?

Well, as a taxpayer and/or observer of civic affairs, I'm guessing you might like to know how much your city councillors and mayor earn when they're not at city hall.

Because when they're not at city hall, all of them except NPA Coun. George Affleck spend a bit of time in the birthplace of Premier Christy Clark.

No, it's not Westside-Kelowna - it's Burnaby, headquarters for the Metro Vancouver agency.

When candidates are elected to council, they also get the privilege of making decisions that affect the region. They, of course, have to be appointed first by their ruling council. In this case, that would be Vision, which explains why Affleck didn't get one of the gigs.

Anyway, I can tell you that Vision Coun. Raymond Louie was city's council's top earner in 2012 for his work at Metro Vancouver, which is defined as a "political body and corporate entity operating under provincial legislation."

Louie, after all, is Metro's vice-chairperson.

He pulled in $41,950 and had an expense tab of $5,845.

Add that to Louie's 2012 council salary of $66,820 and the cash he earns as second vice-president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and he's almost pulling in the starting salary of a Courier reporter.

Hee, hee.

Metro's financial statements also show what other city councillors earned, including Heather Deal, who chairs the environment committee ($26,801), Andrea Reimer ($12,786), Geoff Meggs ($11,888), Tim Stevenson ($10,835), Kerry Jang ($3,154) and Tony Tang ($692). Adriane Carr ($1,394) and Elizabeth Ball ($697) show up as alternates, which means they chip in when one of the Visionistas can't make a meeting.

Mayor Gregor Robertson collected $5,174.

All together now: Ka-ching!

mhowell@vancourier.com

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