Raymond Louie Lends His Support to Gregor Robertson as Policy Advisor

When Vision Vancouver Coun. Raymond Louie campaigned for his party's mayoral nomination last month, he promised he would not shift taxes from businesses to property owners.

Louie focused on this issue to distance himself from challengers Gregor Robertson and Allan De Genova, who favoured a tax hike for property owners. In the end, the tax shift promise was not significant enough to sway a majority of party members from electing Robertson as Vision's mayoral candidate.

Now Louie is Robertson's policy adviser.

So, will Louie advise him not to shift taxes to property owners?

"That is part of an ongoing discussion that we'll have," he said at a press conference Friday outside Science World. "We do agree specifically on the fact that our small businesses need support...there are some nuance differences in terms of what the tool will be to make that happen."

During the Vision mayoral campaign, Louie said taxes have gone up 19.7 per cent over three years. He said an increase could be avoided by cutting NPA-driven initiatives such as hiring a civil city commissioner, implementing a 311 phone service and paying for the ambassadors' security program.

Robertson said a tax shift was necessary because an imbalance between the hefty taxes a business owner pays versus a residential taxpayer must be evened out for small businesses to be viable.

Contracting out work at the city is another issue Louie and Robertson differed on during the campaign. Robertson said the issue should be looked at on a case by case basis, whereas Louie said it should be dealt with at the bargaining table.

But that difference won't likely be an issue the Vision pair will spend much time on.

"We won't be addressing that issue at all during this term because the contract is set," Louie said.

Robertson and Louie agree the city has to become more affordable for people or more young families and seniors will continue to move to the suburbs. Protecting and creating rental housing will be central to Vision's campaign.

The pair will spend time hashing out Robertson's idea of a "speculator's tax" which would see people buying condos for an investment dinged with a higher tax. Such a tax could force speculators to open up their condos for rental housing.

Friday's press conference was the first time Louie and Robertson spoke to the media together since the June 15 nomination meeting at the Croatian Cultural Centre. None of Vision's three other councillors attended the press conference.

Vision councillors Heather Deal and Tim Stevenson endorsed Louie during the mayoral campaign while Vision Coun. George Chow supported Louie. Louie said they all support his appointment as policy adviser. Louie will continue as Vision's caucus chair for the months leading to the Nov.15 election.

Robertson won 3,495 votes to Louie's 2,244 in Vision's mayoral race. De Genova finished with 981 and Robertson said he continues to encourage the longtime parks board commissioner to seek a council nomination.

Robertson and Louie will meet with community leaders this summer to collect information for the party's election platform. The party's nomination meeting for council, school board and parks board is Sept. 20

"It's not a summer off for us, it's in fact a summer of reaching out and making sure that voices are heard," said Robertson, who will resign his seat as NDP MLA for Vancouver-Fairview July 15.