Longtime Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie comes under attack

 

Battle heats up as Cliff Wei attempts to unseat incumbent

 

BY BRUCE CONSTANTINEAU, VANCOUVER SUN NOVEMBER 5, 2014

 

 

Archive photo of longtime Mayor Malcolm Brodie (centre) and his wife, Christine (left), receiving congratulations from a supporter.

Richard Lee got pummelled three years ago when he ran against longtime Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie — receiving about 9,000 votes compared with Brodie’s 21,000.

But the 65-year-old lawyer is back for more, again challenging Brodie for the top spot in city hall.

Is he a glutton for punishment or does he really feel Brodie — a 66-year-old lawyer who has been Richmond’s mayor since 2001 — is vulnerable after 13 years in office?

“I would never say any elected official has been there too long but in my view, the city could use a change in direction,” Lee said.

Cliff Wei, a 43-year-old financial consultant, is also running against Brodie in this year’s three-man mayoral race.

Brodie and Wei are running as independents, while Lee has the backing of Richmond Reform — a new group featuring three Chinese-Canadian candidates, including Lee, councillor candidate Sunny Ho and school trustee candidate Kenneth Ho.

If a recent televised debate featuring the three mayoral candidates is any indication, this campaign will be livelier than any in recent memory.

Lee spent much of the debate attacking Brodie, claiming the incumbent has become “tired and complacent” and too comfortable with developers.

Brodie clearly didn’t enjoy his opponent’s aggressive tactics or the debate format and refused to shake Lee’s hand at the end of the heated discussion.

“If looks could kill, I would have been dead,” Lee said of the awkward moment when he held out his hand to Brodie. “He looked me in the eye and it wasn’t pleasant.”

Brodie insists the snub was not premeditated and that he was focused on speaking with the debate moderator when Lee extended his hand.

“I believe in courtesy and candour and I believe people should have respectful debate,” Brodie said. “I was very frustrated by the format of the debate and the lack of control.”

Lee often refers to a statement Brodie made in September, when he was asked if there would be anything new in his campaign platform this year. The mayor replied that after 13 years, you can’t expect him to come up with “some bold new direction.”

“I am obviously part of the direction city has taken,” he said.

Lee pounced on that remark, saying it clearly indicates the incumbent has become bored and tired after 13 years at the helm.

Brodie says he only meant that voters know what he stands for and he won’t “conjure up a lot of new visions” just for an election.

“I work very hard and I wouldn’t be running now if I had run out of steam in any way,” he said.

Top-of-mind issues in this campaign include council’s handling of Chinese-language-only signs that have upset many residents, a controversial jet-fuel pipeline to Vancouver airport, taxes, crime, affordable housing and how to handle Richmond’s explosive growth.

The city’s population is projected to increase by 35 per cent over the next 27 years: from an estimated 207,500 now to 280,000 in 2041.

Wei feels there has been too much development and densification along the No. 3 Road corridor — leading to increased crime and congestion — and wants more projects diverted elsewhere, with developers paying the full cost of any infrastructure improvements.

Brodie said the arrival of the Canada Line in Richmond five years ago has accelerated development in the No. 3 Road/city centre area, a progression he clearly supports.

“We don’t want to affect single-family neighbourhoods or farmland so we decided to densify in the city centre,” he said.

Lee thinks development cost charges in Richmond are too low and feels developers could easily absorb higher costs because the city is such a desirable place to build.

“If we have been blessed with certain strengths as a city, then we can charge more and developers would still choose to develop in Richmond and that would work to everybody’s benefit,” he said. “What’s the problem with that?”

But Brodie said recent NAIOP (commercial real estate development association) surveys show Richmond already has the second-highest development cost charges of 20 Metro Vancouver communities — behind only the City of Vancouver.

“Mr. Lee suggests we have some of the lowest (development cost charges) around but that fact is we have some of the highest charges,” he said. “The development community does not like them and feels they are excessive.”

All three mayoral candidates have similar views on the long-simmering Chinese-only sign issue, which has upset many Richmond residents who feel all signs in the city should contain at least some English.

City council recently voted to consult with the public on the issue and encourage business owners to add English to their signs.

Brodie said courts would likely strike down any new city bylaw forcing sign owners to add English because that probably violates the Charter of Rights.

“If we send out bylaw officers with tape measures to (ensure signs contain a certain amount of English), what does that say to people in other countries who are considering moving here?” he said. “We’re one of the most diverse cities in the country and we want to encourage community harmony.”

The city has long opposed a proposal to build a 15-kilometre pipeline to carry jet fuel through Richmond to Vancouver International Airport but refuses to join a lawsuit launched by environmental group VAPOR to try to stop the project.

Brodie said the proposal has received the necessary environmental impact approvals so it’s now “very unlikely” that any court action will kill the project.

“There are ways to get a positive court victory that may delay it but unless we can kill it, I don’t know that (joining a lawsuit) is a wise use of our resources,” he said.

But Lee said the city can’t afford to stand on the sidelines.

“When Brodie says we can’t afford to do it, he’s talking about money,” he said. “When I say we can’t afford not to do it, I’m talking about the end of the salmon run on the Fraser River (in the event of an environmental disaster).”

Wei worries about property crime in Richmond and feels the problem can be dealt with more effectively without hiring more police, claiming the installation of more high-definition cameras on city streets would reduce criminal activity.

“It’s not a problem of how many police we have — it’s the methodology,” he said.