Victoria Times Colonist editorial, 13 September 2005
The Victoria Civic Electors organization has named Ben Isitt as its candidate to become the mayor of Victoria — a move that will shape the marketing of all VCE candidates.
In the 2002 election, when he did not have VCE support, Isitt took one-third of the votes cast for mayor. That left him well behind Mayor Alan Lowe, but positioned him as a candidate to be taken seriously in the next election.
This time, the VCE — which is joined at the hip to the New Democratic Party — has declared its belief that Isitt would make a better mayor than Lowe. That endorsement draws a line in the sand that voters won’t be able to miss.
The 27-year-old Isitt is working on a doctorate on Canadian labour history, and his record of social activism is sure to win him respect within the VCE. Highlights on his lengthy resume include Camp Campbell, on the legislature lawn in 2002, and the World Trade Organization protests in Seattle in 1999.
A record such as that is sure to convince some voters to support him, but it will also turn other voters away — the ones who believe compromise and consultation are more effective that confrontation.
While Isitt was shouting at security guards, other people were serving as council members, gaining a better understanding of what it would take to run a community the size of Victoria. The VCE slate sends a clear message.
Four VCE candidates were elected to council in 2002, but only two are seeking re-election. Rob Fleming has become an MLA, and Denise Savoie hopes to become an MP, leaving Dean Fortin and Pamela Madoff as the only incumbents on the six-member VCE councillor slate.
VCE strategists will need to decide how to sell their slate to the voters. Do they stress the council experience of Fortin and Madoff? The fresh views that Isitt would bring? Their yet-to-be- announced platform? Or a combination of all three?
It could be a tough call. Isitt might prove to be a drag on the VCE slate, or he might provide a boost.
In the end, the success of the joint venture will depend on how the right-wing votes are split — and whether Victoria’s voters are willing to have an activist such as Isitt running the show.
