NPA MEMBERS SEEK TO HEAL RIFT WITH MAYOR OWEN

Councillors Ask Him To Lead Party Until His Term Ends

Vancouver's Non-Partisan Association councillors have gone to their
estranged mayor and asked him to lead their party until his term ends in
November, one member says.

"We have asked him to be our leader, to be our NPA mayor, and to be a vital
part of the caucus," says Councillor Sam Sullivan, who said he believes the
rift has nothing to do with Mayor Philip Owen's drug policy or Councillor
Jennifer Clarke's ambitions to be mayor.

For now, he said, both Owen and the councillors have agreed to take a
breather for a week and let the situation settle down. In the meantime, the
NPA caucus is meeting without Owen.

As well, a plan made months ago to have Clarke give the tribute to Owen at
a dinner Sunday, when he is being honoured by the Vancouver Chinatown Lions
Club, will likely not go ahead so that people won't be distracted from the
original purpose of the ceremony, says one scheduler.

Although city hall insiders say Clarke has set up her campaign office and
may be planning to announce her candidacy as early as next week, Sullivan
said he expected things would be quiet for several weeks.

Observers of city politics were stunned last week when Owen confirmed that,
if he runs for mayor again next term, it won't be with the party that he
has represented for the last 25 years.

Owen confirmed, after The Vancouver Sun obtained some of his correspondence
with the party, that he had been told he would have to compete internally
for the mayor's nomination if he decided to run. He was also told he had to
make his decision about whether he was running by March 5 -- an
unmistakable message that the party wanted him out. He has said he might
run as an independent.

Since then, he said, he has received a deluge of support from the public,
many saying he should run as an independent and offering to work on his
campaign. At least one NPA member has asked him to fall on his sword and
resign gracefully to save the party.

Many followers of the NPA's politics said the surprising split happened
because the NPA was unhappy with Owen's aggressive championing of a drug
strategy for the Downtown Eastside that included controversial health
programs for addicts. As well, Clarke had been campaigning hard internally
for several years to replace Owen.

Sullivan said he doesn't believe the drug strategy is really the issue.

"If this is an anti-drug thing, they are my enemy," said Sullivan, who had
been Owen's strongest ally on the drug strategy. But he said Clarke has
assured him she is a strong supporter of the strategy.

He said although he would support Owen for another term as mayor, Clarke is
a good communicator who would put more energy into uniting the different
communities that are currently warring over the strategy.

Gastown, Strathcona and Chinatown business owners and residents -- two of
whom were elected to the NPA board in December -- have opposed parts of the
strategy, saying the plan will bring more "enabling" services for addicts,
doesn't have enough emphasis on using police enforcement to clear the
streets, and doesn't emphasize prevention and treatment. That group, called
the Community Alliance, is also suing the city over a contact centre
created for addicts that provides health services, a small drop-in, and
community-centre type activities.

Health-care workers, poverty and housing groups, and AIDS groups, along
with some area residents, are in favour of the plan, saying it will help
reduce overdose deaths and the incidence of HIV and AIDS. It could also
help clear the streets by giving addicts a place to go since they are
barred from many facilities in the community.

Sullivan said that, in spite of the hostility between the two sides, "I
believe there are far more points of agreement and that's why Jennifer may
be good for that."

Sullivan and other councillors say that Owen created some of the current
confusion by sending ambiguous signals about whether he was planning to run
again. Contrary to the image people have that Clarke staged a coup, he
says, "people have gone to her because she is the most competent. Jennifer
was gearing up and Philip wasn't very forthcoming.

"Everybody's anxious about this election. It's going to be the hardest one
we've ever had," said Sullivan, adding civic voters could reject the party
that is perceived to be linked to the current service-cutting Liberal
government.

In spite of the negative publicity that the NPA's rift with its mayor has
generated, several people have said they're interested in running for an
NPA nomination.

One promising candidate is David Chesman, a lawyer who sat on the park
board for two terms.

An articulate speaker, Chesman said he is assessing whether he can raise
the $40,000 he thinks he needs before he decides to file application
papers. Chesman said he'd like to be on council to help pull the city together.

"I worry the city's internally divided. There's a tendency for people to
view everything as a zero-sum game."

Another candidate is Jon Ellis, a former city planner who has applied to
run for the NPA. Ellis said he'd like the city to find a different process
for talking to citizens and involving them in controversial decisions. He
said residents are too often shut out and belittled.

Other possible NPA candidates include Art Cowie, who was a councillor in
the '80s, and Janet Leduc, president of Heritage Vancouver, who ran
unsuccessfully on the NPA slate last election.

Sitting Councillors Sandy McCormick, Don Lee and Daniel Lee have all said
they're planning to run again. Councillors George Puil, Lynne Kennedy and
Sam Sullivan have not indicated definitively what they're planning.