(Vancouver Courier, June 27, 2011)
“I had no prior knowledge of the potential chaos.”—Mayor Gregor Robertson, June 17, 2011
If he’s being honest, he had no clue. Think about that.
The 2011 Stanley Cup riot, for all intents and purposes, continues to rage. Every day, another bomb goes off, another revelation. It’s an opera starring thousands of extras and Mayor Gregor Robertson who took centre stage during the riot, blaming a “small number of hooligans” while Vancouver burned.
The following day, and for the next three days, he blamed “anarchists” for the shattered glass, suckerpunches and $5 million in damages. But nobody believed that. Last Thursday, Day 8 of the aftermath, Robertson repeated his original fantastic claim, which has become the centre piece of his defense. “I think what took place would be far beyond what anyone anticipated.” Anyone who’s spent any time in Vancouver, who possesses basic cognitive abilities to retain information, would never make that claim. The 1994 Stanley Cup riot, and the unrest during the Olympics’ opening days, is stamped on Vancouver’s collective psyche. Most people couldn’t forget if they tried.
But wait. If you know Robertson, you must consider the inconceivable. It’s not a spin job aimed at the November civic election. He’s telling the truth. Or more accurately, he believes what he’s saying. Consider this: we now know Robertson never read the 1994 riot report, which warns of future riots and recommends an overwhelming police presence in the downtown core.
Also, according to revelations last week, Robertson was clueless about police plans for the Stanley Cup finals (“I didn’t know any details”) and that during a police board meeting on June 15, hours before Game 7, Robertson, chair of the board, never broached the topic with VPD Chief Jim Chu (“It wasn’t on the agenda”).
Consequently, it’s Red Alert time for Team Robertson led by Mike Magee, the mayor’s chief of staff. Before the riot, Robertson was cruising to victory in November. Thanks to an anemic NPA opposition, he’s still the favourite. But with an independent review on the riot scheduled for release in August, the race has tightened. It’s a big problem. Unlike Chief Chu, Robertson must talk to the media. And that’s not his strong suit. Since his election in 2008, Robertson rarely makes impromptu public appearances. More than any Vancouver mayor in recent history, his movements are closely managed, his musings tightly scripted. But the riot flushed Robertson from his comfort zone. His recent riot admissions, which boggle the mind, provide prime fodder for campaign opponents.
But wait. Perhaps Magee and company have done the math. Perhaps Robertson’s damning admissions of jaw-dropping incompetence, which raise questions about the man’s basic ability think and learn, are part of a post-riot strategy. Which leads back to Chief Chu. In the first 48 hours after the riot, Robertson and Chu seemed in lockstep. In separate press conferences, they said the same things, blaming “anarchists” and “criminals” while dodging questions about culpability. But then, sometime around Day 5 and Day 6, cracks began to form. During a June 21 press conference, Robertson noted that police were “key partners in the celebration and in keeping our streets safe.” A not-so-subtle jab at Chu.
Shorty thereafter, Chu dove underground, the police circled the wagons, and someone at the VPD emailed a bizarre press release, which included no source or contact information. “Recently the Vancouver Police have received reports of rumours that… involve perceived interference with strategic, operational or budgetary police matters from politicians or bureaucrats. The VPD would like to make it absolutely clear there is no shred of truth to these rumours.”
OK. But to my knowledge, no one made that claim—that politicians interfered with pre-riot police plans. In fact, most media members were blaming Chu. Why would the police contact virtually every reporter in Vancouver to quash a nonexistent “rumour” about political “interference?”
The VPD pushback continued late last week when Chu refused to tell Robertson how many cops were deployed downtown for Game 7. Clearly, Chu’s unhappy with the mayor’s office. They want him to wear this riot while Robertson skates. Magee and company have their eye on November. If Chu’s not already under the bus, he better watch his back and keep clear of the curb.
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