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Candidates pull out all the stops in last days

Will BCA be able to fend off competitors on e-day?

If there has been one major issue during the election campaign it has been the monopoly the Burnaby Citizens Association has on council and school board. In 2008, Mayor Derek Corrigan and the BCA took all council and school board seats, leaving the city with three years of no opposition.

Opponents of the BCA started their campaigns with a call for party diversity in city government, with better oversight, transparency and accountability.

TEAM Burnaby became a cohesive party again to put candidates forward in the election, and the Burnaby Municipal Greens formed from local Green party candidates.

Corrigan has said there haven't been any scandals or corruption under the current council, and each member of the city government has proven their worth.

As Coun. Dan Johnston put it at an all-candidates meeting, the last election results were democracy in action.

"That's the people's choice," he said, adding that the BCA's opponents were focusing on a lack of opposition because there weren't other issues to focus on.

But the opposing candidates developed stronger platforms throughout their campaigns, focusing on the lack of affordable housing in the Burnaby, city spending, increasing property taxes and a slew of other issues, including the city's tree bylaw and transit initiatives in the region.

For school board, the primary issue has been policy 5.45, the anti-homophobia policy introduced earlier this year.

The Burnaby Parents' Voice party formed in opposition to the policy but also focused on other campaign issues, such as academic standards and reducing advertising in schools.

As with most elections in Burnaby, the independent candidates have felt they haven't gotten much of a say.

Independent council candidate Nick Akvenich, who made a strong showing at the all-candidates meetings, said he felt marginalized because he wasn't with a party.

Independent mayoral candidate Sylvia Gung was at two of the meetings, trying to make her voice heard, but the other independent mayoral candidate, Allen Hutton, did not attend any of the meetings.

One new element in this election is the online campaigning being done by candidates. Independent council and mayoral candidates did not make their presence known online, nor did independent school board candidate Franca Zumpano-Luongo, but independent school board candidate Jade Tomelden has.

However, those candidates affiliated with parties have made social media a priority.

The majority of BCA, TEAM and Green candidates are using social media in some form, whether it be Facebook, Twitter or the blogosphere, and all of the parties have an online presence.

Michelle Boudreau, who is in charge of media relations for the BCA, said interacting on social media is an important part of campaigning, but so are traditional methods.

"We've done a ton of door knocking and main streeting," she said in a phone interview Wednesday, adding the candidates would finish up their campaigns with more door-knocking and getting out to talk to people.

"We've been getting great feedback at the doorstep," Boudreau said.

All of the BCA's signs - 120 large signs and 1,000 lawn signs - were taken and put up by party supporters, she added.

Boudreau was working on gathering volunteers for election day.

"We've got a great group of people in our camp," she added.

One of the things that has worked well during the campaign is the cohesive nature of the party, with candidates showing up at events and working together, she said.

As for how she thinks the BCA will do in the election?

"We're always looking forward to a good outcome," she said.

Meanwhile, TEAM Burnaby's Lee Rankin said the party's main focus is preparing for Nov. 19. That means phoning supporters and making sure they get out to vote and responding to requests for signs. Candidates have been spending their final campaign days door-knocking and main streeting.

Rankin already has about a dozen elections under his belt, but he noted some differences this year.

"This is the first campaign where we've really used social media," he said. "We've had websites in the past campaign. In terms of using Facebook, Twitter and blogs, this is the first."

Besides social media, Rankin expects better results for TEAM this year because the "non-partisan, free-enterprise" supporters are united. In 2008, Garth Evans, Gary Begin and Barbara Spitz (who all previously ran for TEAM) ran on their own, forming Independent Voices. While BCA took 42 per cent of the council votes, Independent Voices took 11 per cent and TEAM took 23 - still eight percentage points behind the BCA with the two parties' results combined. Yet in the 2005 election, TEAM secured three council seats.

"The translation is there is a core support for the BCA and an equally strong core that has no desire to see the BCA," Rankin said.

So with Evans now back onboard, Rankin is branding TEAM as an alternative to Burnaby's "one-party rule" under the BCA.

"Obviously the whole focus in organizing this year was to emphasize there are problems with BCA council and school board. It's really a closed shop. There's no marketplace of ideas, and people are frustrated," Rankin said.

Corrigan critiqued the opposition for opposition's sake argument at a recent all-candidates meeting, saying it was ironic that many competitors were arguing the public should vote for them because they are from a different party, not because they will make better councillors.

"That argument doesn't hold any water," Rankin said, pointing to TEAM's council and school board platforms as evidence of different ideas.

Rankin also rejected Corrigan's criticism that he wasn't showing up at all-candidates debates even though he's one of the more experienced TEAM politicians.

"We operate differently," Rankin said. "You can see from (BCA) literature and signs, they are encouraging a cult of personality. When you look at their signs and their literature, they are talking about one person. We've sat down as a caucus and said it's important the public see new candidates. - Our approach is to show the strengths of everyone on the TEAM."

While BCA membership requires that one is a card-carrying New Democrat, Rankin also refutes the notion his party is aligned with the Liberals.

"That's false. The BCA is directly affiliated with the NDP. We have no affiliations to provincial and federal parties," Rankin said. "We're a civic party. We'll work with anyone on the best interests of Burnaby."

Even with a BCA-dominated council and school board, Rankin remains hopeful.

"I describe this battle as David versus Goliath," he said. "They have the big muscle. - Not only are they using their NDP muscle, they are using tax payers dollars to promote the cult of personality."

The Greens are also focusing on door knocking, and talking to people at SkyTrain stations in the final days of the campaign, Green council candidate Rick McGowan said in an email.

The main challenge for the new party has been talking to as many voters as possible before election day, he added.

"People have been quite interested in and supportive of having a Green voice on council," he wrote. "Everyone understands the importance of having an effective opposition regardless of how efficient an unopposed government is."

"I am feeling very positive about our campaign," he added.

No one from Burnaby Parents' Voice responded to the Burnaby NOW's request for an interview before deadline.

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