Anyway, onto the news. Yes, Mr. Lee made his formal announcement Wednesday, after his name had been circulating for a couple of weeks. Apparently, he was only approached about a month ago, when he had breakfast with Peter Ladner and former NPA president, now SUCCESS CEO Tung Chan at the Walk with the Dragon event, and they pitched the idea of running to him. Lee said he had thought of going into politics once before, when Toronto councillor Olivia Chow, now an NDP MP, asked him to consider running in her old municipal ward of Spadina. (Lee was then just retired from working with HSBC in Toronto, four years after being transferred there, in 2000, from Vancouver.)

Lee said the things he’s the most interested in are homelessness, drug policy, and revitalizing Chinatown, although he doesn’t have a lot of strong opinions on policy yet. On what to do about drug addiction, he said he has “no ideas yet” on exactly what the solutions might be. Lee, who is 64, said he went on a walkabout with Ladner through the Downtown Eastside the other night and was appalled by the state of the hotels where people are living. “The living conditions are deplorable. People deserve better.”

Lee, born in Hong Kong and later a resident of Sydney, Australia, came to Vancouver in 1969, when he was 25. He was the first-ever Chinese branch manager (in Victoria) for the bank he first started working for in the 1970s and was a branch manager in Chinatown for a number of years later on. He’s been active with a number of Chinatown-affiliated organizations since me moved back to Vancouver from Toronto after his retirement in 2004.

For more about Lee, you can read Mike Howell’s story on him in the Courier.

As well, here’s his speech.

Ladies & Gentlemen, fellow members of Hong Kong Merchants Association, Peter Ladner and guests:

Today I stand here in front of you to announce that I have accepted the offer from Peter Ladner and the NPA to run as a candidate of the Councillor for the City of Vancouver on the forthcoming civic election on November 15, 2008. I was asked, “What is your platform?” and “Why do you want to be a Councillor for City of Vancouver?”

Straight from my heart, my children and others like Peter Ladner, Paul Wilson who have the blessings of being born in his country.

But fellow members of this Association and myself by being citizens of this country is by our choice and our choosing to be in Canada and we chose to live in Vancouver.

Vancouver has been good to me for the past 39 years. I want to repay and therefore I am running as a Candidate of the Councilor.

You want to talk about commitment. My fellow members I have in the last two weeks resigned from my job as the Executive Director of Chinese Cultural Centre of Greater Vancouver and I am in the process of moving to a 12th Avenue apartment to be closer to the City Hall. My commitment is 200% totally.

The 1986 Expo has indeed put Vancouver on the map. A generation later in 2010 the Winter Olympics will again indeed placed Vancouver on the forefront of the global village.

After I am elected, I shall work towards to the betterment of the citizens of Vancouver:

• homelessness

• revitalization of Chinatown

• other issues: drug addicts

I compare this opportunity with the one offered by the HSBC Bank Canada which I had totally committed for 18 years. I had made major accomplishments. I will again deliver the amazing results for the citizens of Vancouver.

In closing, I ask everyone of you in this room to deliver 10 votes on the upcoming election on November 15,08 for NPA, for Peter Ladner and of course, for me. I need your support and deserve your support. Thank you.

Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson told me today he’s not concerned about the number of candidates. In fact, he sees it as encouraging that there are so many people who want to get involved hands on in city politics. And he thinks Vision’s vetting system will work out fine. Sometime before the actual nomination day, candidates will be required to fill out a 16-page questionnaire that asks them to go through a lot of questions (which basically boil down to: “Have you done anything ever in your life that could embarrass us, including saying or writing inflammatory statements that seemed perfectly reasonable at the time but, years later, will make you/us look like amateurs and yahoos when the opposition issues a media statement about them?”)

But I am hearing others say that it’s starting to look chaotic and amateur and can lead to real political consequences, especially if people feel they have invested a lot of time and effort to get elected only to get lost in the general melee.

For the record, everything is in alphabetical order, so I can avoid accusations of some kind of bias. I have included the websites I could find for council candidates only. There were a couple of candidates I could find no information on whatsoever. I’m happy to amend if they’ll just contact me. And of course do get in touch if I’ve left you off the list completely.

I will continue to re-post this and update it. Here it is.

2008 VANCOUVER CIVIC ELECTION NOMINATION CANDIDATES

* indicates someone already nominated by their party

+ indicates someone who is currently elected to a civic position

NB: Vision and COPE have not determined yet how many spots their hopeful candidates will be running for

COUNCIL (10 seats)

COPE

1. +David Cadman – former head of environmental group SPEC

2. Tim Louis – lawyer, former councillor

3. Terry Martin

3. Meena Wong – former assistant to Toronto city councillor Olivia Chow, www.meenawong.ca

4. Ellen Woodsworth – community organizer with seniors, women’s groups, www.ellenwoodsworth.com

NPA

1. *+Suzanne Anton – former Crown prosector, www.suzanneanton.ca

2. *+Elizabeth Ball – former theatre director, www.elizabethball.ca

3. *+Kim Capri – former director John Howard Society, www.kimcapri.ca

4. Lenore Copeland – president False Creek Residents Association,

5. *Michael Geller – former president of SFU UniverCity, planner, development consultant , www.michaelgeller.ca

6. *Korina Houghton – forester in training, current park board trustee, www.korinahoughton.com

7. David Lee – retired HSBC vice-president

8.

9.

10.

Rumours: Syrus Lee of the Chinatown BIA, “someone” South Asian

VISION

1. +George Chow – retired B.C. Hydro engineer, Chinatown volunteer

2. +Heather Deal – researcher, David Suzuki Foundation, www.heatherdeal.ca

3. Kashmir Dhaliwal – president, Ross Street temple

4. Demitri Douzenis – manages a small business that offers cross-cultural and conflict-resolution consultion, www.demitri2008.ca

5. David Eby – lawyer, Pivot Legal advocate, www.davideby.ca

6. Catherine Evans – lawyer, public-interest communications business, B.C. Society for Public Education president, www.catherineevans.ca

7. Kerry Jang – UBC psychiatry professor, www.kerryjang.ca

8. Heather Harrison – Kwantlen philosophy instructor, www.heatherharrison.ca

9. Vaune Adams Kolber – former director of non-profit and voluntary programs at SFU, www.votevaune08.ca

10. Ray Lam – youth advocate, gay and lesbian advocate, www.raylam.ca

11. +Raymond Louie – two-term councillor, print-shop worker and union rep, www.raymondlouie.ca

12. Geoff Meggs – former assistant Larry Campbell, communications director B.C. Federation of Labour, www.geoffmeggs.ca

13. Andrea Reimer – executive director Western Canada Wilderness Committee, www.andreareimer.typepad.com

14. +Tim Stevenson – United Church minister, long-time politician

15. Rey Umlas – retired staff representative, Hospital Employees Union

SCHOOL BOARD (9 spots)

COPE

1. Bill Bargeman – former president Vancouver Secondary Teachers

2.+Al Blakey – former teacher

3. Jane Bouey – co-manager independent bookstore, former trustee

4. Alnoor Gova – researcher and community organizer

5. Noel Herron – former school principal, former trustee

6. +Allan Wong – longtime trustee, teacher

NPA

1. *Ken Denike – former geography professor

2. *Carol Gibson – former teacher, post-secondary administrator

3. *Clarence Hansen – former school principal

4. *Heather Holden — current park-board commissioner, former geography prof, wealth advisor, www.heatherholden,ca

5. *Sophia Woo – mental health clinician, volunteer Rotary Club

6.

7.

8.

9.

VISION

1. Patti Bacchus – parent advocate

2. Narinder Chhina – businessman

3. +Sharon Gregson – child care advocate

4. Mike Lombardi – former teacher, parent activist, Italian community leader, www.mikelombardi.ca

5. Anastasia Mirras – school psychologist, union activist, most of Demetri Douzenis

6. Helesia Luke – founding member Save Our Schools Coalition

7. Steven Vdovine – current Maple Ridge school trustee, young

PARK BOARD (7 spots)

COPE

1. John Irwin, SFU geography instructor, SPEC director

2. Justin Muir – artist, president Helen Pitt Gallery

3. Imtiaz Popat – artist, radio host Co-op Radio

4. Anita Romaniuk – systems analyst, former park board commissioner

5. +Loretta Woodcock – environmental activist

GREEN

Stuart Mackinnon – special-needs teacher, past president of SPEC

NPA

Nominated already

1. *Laura McDiarmid – former park board trustee, former B.C. Liberal candidate 2005

2. *Chris Richardson – former park board trustee, police officer

3. *+Ian Robertson – corporate communications, Rocky Mountaineer

4. *Sharon Urton – co-chair Vancouver Active Communities Network

Competing for remaining three spots

5. Melissa DeGenova – something in real estate, daughter of longtime park-board commissioner Allan

6. Naresh Shukla

7. Wai Sin – realtor

8. +Marty Zlotnik – investment company owner

Rumour: Jamie Lee Hamilton has indicated in various public venues that she wants to run, but nothing official has appeared yet.

VISION

1. Constance Barnes – daughter of former MLA Emery Barnes

2. Sarah Blyth – skateboarder advocate

3. Hadani Ditmars – journalist

4. James Gill – West Point Grey Community Centre Association volunteer

5. Raj Hundal – Vision executive member, former MP Penny Priddy assistant

6. Aaron Jasper – director, West End Residents Association

7. Tony Kosovic, former corrections officer, longtime NDP member and union activist

8. Thomas Lockhart – operator West Coast Tattoo

9. Kevin Neilson – ?

10. Steve Tannock – web developer

11. Rob Wynen – former West End Residents Association president, manager North Vancouver community centre fitness centre

Rumour: Ian Waddell may run for park board

There’s some confusion, btw, on when the actual deadline is for candidate nominations. The party’s website says it’s tomorrow (one month in advance of the nomination vote) but apparently that deadline might only apply to memberships, not nominations. News to come.

On the Vision side, yet another council candidate (current count, including incumbents, now up to 10 not counting the new guy, is Ray Lam, a young Chinese guy who is involved with several gay organizations in town. They’re going to have to start renting school gymnasiums soon to hold all the Vision candidates.

And, my mistake, deadline for Vision candidate nominations is Sept. 5 not Aug. 20, as I previously blog-reported.