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CITY OF VANCOUVER
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MEMORANDUM June 14, 2004
File: 1103
TO: |
Vancouver City Council |
FROM: |
Tarja Tuominen, Meeting Coordinator |
SUBJECT: |
Report of the 2004 Vancouver Electoral Reform Commission |
On June 8, 2004, Commissioner Thomas Berger presented a Report Reference on A City of Neighbourhoods: Report of the 2004 Vancouver Electoral Reform Commission. Vancouver City Council received the report and postponed discussion and consideration of the report to the Regular Council meeting of June 22, 2004.
A summary of the recommendations contained in the report is listed below (Note: Please bring your copy of the report with you to the meeting):
Recommendation 1: That the at-large system of electing Vancouver City Councillors should be abolished, and Councillors should be elected from wards.
Recommendation 2: That the Park Board continue to be elected at large.
Recommendation 3: That Councillors in a ward system should not be required to live in their respective wards.
Recommendation 4: That Councillors swear an oath or solemn affirmation that they will "work together for goodwill and the common good."
Recommendation 5: Council should consider an increase in the staff support provided to Council. Staff should continue to provide strictly professional, and not political, assistance to Councillors.
Recommendation 6: There should be no public funding provided in the ward system for local ward offices or staff.
Recommendation 7: That the size of City Council be expanded to 14 Councillors from 10.
Recommendation 8: That for the purposes of Council elections, Vancouver should be divided into 14 wards, each electing a single Councillor.
Recommendation 9: That the boundaries for the wards be established according to the maps accompanying this Report (see attached Appendix A).
Recommendation 10: That Council should establish an independent commission to review ward boundaries following each 10-year federal census.
Recommendation 11: That Council should not adopt a partial ward or mixed system in which some Councillors are elected at-large and some from wards and that GVRD and TransLink representatives continue to be selected in the current manner.
Recommendation 12: That Council seek amendment of the Vancouver Charter to permit elections to be conducted using systems of proportional representation.
Recommendation 13: That Council seek repeal of non-resident elector provisions of the Vancouver Charter.
Recommendation 14: That Council not resume door-to-door enumerations, but rather explore integration of municipal voters' lists with their federal and provincial counterparts.
Recommendation 15: That Council seek ways to improve the voter outreach and access programs used in the 2002 civic election and 2003 Olympics Referendum.
Recommendation 16: That Council should enact a by-law under which candidate profile statements may be collected and distributed during elections, and that Council should petition the provincial government to amend the Charter to implement such a program on the New Zealand model, with such modifications as may be considered advisable.
Recommendation 17: That Council petition the provincial government to amend the Charter to require that, if a party goes into debt in the course of a campaign, every contribution to that party made until the debt is fully retired must be reported as a campaign contribution.
Recommendation 18: That Council approach the provincial government to consult with Vancouver and other interested municipalities to design a system of restrictions on campaign contributions for municipal elections.
Recommendation 19: That Council approach the provincial government to consult with Vancouver and other interested municipalities to design a system of restrictions on campaign spending during municipal elections.
Recommendation 20: That Council petition the provincial and/or federal governments to institute a program of tax credits for municipal campaign or political contributions.
Recommendation 21: That Council petition the provincial government to amend the Vancouver Charter to permit randomized ballots.
Recommendation 22: That Council petition the provincial government to amend the Charter to make it clear that the Park Board may be elected at large whether or not Council is elected from wards.
Recommendation 23: That Council pass a by-law to conduct a referendum on the adoption of a ward system for Council, and that this referendum be held on or about October 16, 2004.
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