1964:

Mayor Bill Rathie and Vancouver aldermen receive a sobering result from city voters, when, in a survey conducted by Ben Crow and Associates, eight out of 10 taxpayers rate council’s conduct as “fair-to-poor”.

“Most voters of Vancouver consider their city council foolish and incompetent,” declares the Vancouver Sun. “They also regard the council as a bickering, arguing, indecisive, immature, petty, and myopic group.”

The survey, commisioned by the Mayor after a public plebiscite (necessary for the city to borrow additional money from the federal or provincial government) had defeated council’s proposed $48.5-million capital works program, was intended to examine the reasons for the public’s animosity toward the plan, however, as gleefully reported by the Sun, it instead reveals a widespread dissatisfaction with city officials.

The paper reports that “nearly half” of city ratepayers “stated they were dissatisfied with council,” and that civic officials have been guilty of “spending money poorly”.

Much further into the article, the paper also states, on the results of the plebiscite: “One third of those polled found there were too many issues to cope with and some, in addition, felt hurried during actual voting.”

City plebiscites on money issues will continue to be required until 2009, when VISION Vancouver will invoke emergency powers to allow the city to borrow virtually unlimited funds to aid in the completion of the Olympic Village project.

 

IMAGE: Council Chambers at City Hall, circa 1936. Image courtesy of the Vancouver Archives.