Your councillor wasn't there for a big vote
You know, sometimes the silence in the council chambers can speak louder than any debate. That's what I kept thinking when I looked at the recent voting records. It seems Councillor R. Bligh has a habit of being... elsewhere, when it really counts.
Consider the Special Council meeting on April 21st, concerning a short-term rental business license at 1801-1788 Columbia Street. The decision carried unanimously, but Bligh was marked "Absent." Then, just a week earlier, at the Public Hearing on April 14th for that significant CD-1 text amendment regarding 1055-1085 Canada Place and 1001-1045 West Waterfront Road—another "Absent" for Councillor Bligh. That Canada Place vote was a pretty big one, shaping a chunk of the waterfront.
It's one thing to have a busy schedule, but missing these kinds of votes, especially when decisions carry, means a voice isn't being heard on behalf of the people who elected them. It leaves you wondering where the priorities are.
Beautiful out here. Complicated in here. That's the coast.
Kenji Nakashima, MiTL Vancouver.
The crew on the Morning Wire dives into this every day—you can tune in at mornings.live.