Stanley Cup riot fuels political issues

Before the cars had finished burning, some aspiring B.C. politicians were already pointing fingers in an attempt to gain public favour. The Globe and Mail’s Rob Mickleburgh did a great job summarizing the blow by blow. Here’s a quick snapshot:

First, Mayor Gregor Robertson released an email statement attacking the ransacking of his city. He quickly reassured citizens that he and his team of emergency managers were working on containing the problem. Then, an hour later, NPA mayoral candidate Councillor Suzanne Anton sent out a statement demanding an “immediate inquiry” around how the riot happened. Fair enough.

The next day, Vancouver council candidate Joe Carangi, not to be upstaged by Anton, decided the Mayor’s “lack of foresight” was responsible for the destruction. Carangi’s voice has now been swamped by other critics – primarily partisan – who have made it their mission to drum up as much fervor as possible and channel it towards their political foes. Controversial council candidate Mike Klassen (former head blogger of CityCaucus.com) has already published a series of posts castigating the Mayor and his caucus. The meaning behind the blog posts is clear: Why weren’t we better prepared for the Stanley Cup riot?; Teflon Mayor Robertson should also be held accountable; Riots delay Mayor Gregor’s plans to turn lawns into wheat fields and of course who could forget: It’s Robertson’s Riot.

On Twitter, the question of who read the mysterious “Riot Report” is being bandied around to somehow prove City Hall and the VPD weren’t doing their due diligence. While the vast majority of recommendations were already part of the VPD’s standard operating procedure, this hasn’t stopped the opposition from flinging mud.

It’s apparent that after two and a half years of banging the drums to rouse anger around bike lanes, chicken coops and the inside baseball of staffing at the City, Vision’s opponents finally figure they have a winning issue. Expect this vitriol to rev up in the coming months as we near fall election season. Ultimately, these opponents should be careful not to exaggerate the issue or they may come across as political profiteers.