GETTING A BUZZ IN VANCOUVER

Most British Columbians are content to stand back and marvel -- or gape in
horror -- at local politics. Yet there is no shortage of ready candidates.
The Nov. 16 Vancouver civic election features 118 people on the ballot for
various posts; this doesn't include the 20-odd municipalities in the Lower
Mainland. Add them up, and you have as many people running as you usually
have voting.

This is the most interesting civic election in years, and not just because
the last surviving Rhino in captivity -- a goof named Brian Salmi -- is
running. He's back in town after fleeing the country in 1997 "after the
cops kicked in the doors of my East Van marijuana mine."

Don't laugh. Drugs are a big factor in this campaign. The leading candidate
for mayor appears convinced that Vancouver voters want safe injection sites
for heroin addicts, and they want them now. If elected -- which looks
likely -- he promises we'll have them by Jan. 1.

Into this bad trip walks city council candidate Peter Ladner, who has his
own drug flashback: He was fired from The Vancouver Sun in 1969 for
admitting he knew 20 co-workers who had smoked marijuana. "I never
exhaled," he says.

In some ways, however, he's the antidote in this drug-induced campaign. As
the founder of the influential weekly newspaper Business in Vancouver, the
53-year-old has established a reputation as the sober voice for business.
His politics are also sober: He's for strong but "sustainable" economic
development.

And he likes to run. He holds the age record for the Knee Knacker, a
30-mile ultra-marathon across the North Shore mountains. Last May, he and
some friends ran across Wales in a day.

Stamina is necessary if you're going to survive in this political climate.
Mr. Ladner would rather talk about making Vancouver the world's No. 1 green
city, a showcase for sustainable transport and infrastructure. But he's
learned he can't control the issues, and safe injection sites have become
the issue.

Crime is rampant in Vancouver; according to some estimates, we have more
property crime than any other North American city except Miami. One reason
is the heavy concentration of drug addicts, who fuel their habits through
crime. You look for answers, and the safe injection strategy, which aims to
free the addict from the pusher, may be a start.

At any rate, Mr. Ladner and his Non-Partisan Association colleagues support
safe injection sites, but the NPA fumbled the issue out of the gate when it
turned its back on the incumbent mayor, Philip Owen, who courageously
championed safe injection sites when it wasn't cool.

Now the ruling NPA is in a mortal struggle with the left-leaning Coalition
of Progressive Electors. Thanks to Larry Campbell, its candidate for mayor,
COPE owns the high ground on drugs -- he's the model for the crusading
coroner on Da Vinci's Inquest. The CBC drama just won a Gemini and, by all
reports, life will imitate art on Nov. 16.

Mr. Ladner, who enjoys crossover support thanks to his general
sustainability, may be one of the last NPA candidates standing after the
vote, as anecdotal evidence indicates that voters will make the NPA pay for
turning its back on Mayor Owen. It looks as though the main beneficiary
will be Mr. Campbell, who nevertheless may find civic politics tough to
handle. After all, most of his previous experience is with dead people.

Mr. Ladner, however, has learned to endure pain and keep on running. And
that could be a handy skill.