The BC leaders' debate lands no knockout punches, Vancouver posts record early turnout, and the mayor's race comes down to two.

Jody Vance and George Affleck on Episode 342:

• The leaders' debate: David Eby, Lorne Doerkson and Emily Lowan, and why nobody landed the big hit.
• Lowan pitches herself as the balance of power, and George's Gordon Wilson lesson from 1991: why not run for premier?
• Ten years in power, so why are the new machines and hospitals only showing up now?
• Big promises, no costing: where would the Conservative cuts come from? George and Jody disagree on whether it matters.
• Governments lose elections, and why there are real savings to find in Victoria.
• Record early turnout in Vancouver, and why southeast Vancouver could decide it.
• Ken Sim versus Pete Fry, a possible 2018 rerun, and could ABC sweep all nine council seats?
• Free Kits Pool: open it when the flowers bloom, close it when the leaves fall, and find the park board candidates at freekitspool.com.
• Surrey, Richmond, West Vancouver, Delta and Langley Township: where the upsets could happen.
• Alberta votes October 19 on whether to start down the road to separation, and what that means for BC.
• A US president polling below George W. Bush, a White House leaning toward Russia, and the November 3 midterms.
• Is the American economy booming? Depends whether you own a business or sit at the kitchen table.

Municipal election day is Saturday, October 17. Provincial election day is October 24.

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Follow Jody: @jodyvance

Follow George: @george_affleck

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The BC NDP comes up a candidate short, Lorne Doerkson keeps his cards close, and George calls a Conservative majority. Plus a dead heat for mayor.

Jody Vance and George Affleck on Episode 341:

• The NDP campaign: one candidate short after a paperwork error, and why the election call came from the top.
• New MRIs and CT scanners now. Where were they for the last ten years?
• Lorne Doerkson's likability, the Vassy Kapelos interview, and the leader or front man question.
• SOGI 123, the UBC bullying study, and why governments cut programs that work.
• The ridings in play: Yaletown, South Vancouver, Surrey and maybe Eby's own Vancouver-Point Grey.
• Dueling tax breaks, and cutting the paperwork that buries doctors.
• The predictions: Jody says NDP minority, George says massive Conservative majority.
• Inside the polling station: a two-sided ballot, the plebiscite, and the viral video that got it wrong.
• Vancouver mayor: a dead heat between Ken Sim and Pete Fry, and why Rebecca Bligh drifted left.
• Surrey: Janet Brown runs for council and the mayor's race is wide open.
• Trump tells a rally Iran could take out Los Angeles and San Diego, and George calls it treason.
• Anne Carson wins the Nobel Prize in Literature, and Canada gets a poet's answer.

Advance voting October 10 and 13. Municipal election day October 17. Provincial election day October 24.

Subscribe for weekly Vancouver, BC and national politics with zero spin.

Follow Jody: @jodyvance

Follow George: @george_affleck

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Carney and Smith green-light the Pacific Link pipeline, the BC Conservatives get election amnesia, and Vancouver's mayor race tightens as advance voting opens.

Jody Vance and George Affleck on Episode 340:

• Pacific Link: the first project of national importance under the Building Canada Act
• 1,250 km, shovels in the ground September 2027, and 100,000 short-term jobs
• Roberts Bank tankers, the north coast tanker ban, and orca protections
• Ethical oil for Korea and Japan, and why the Strait of Hormuz changes everything
• First Nations at the table, and the Alberta referendum behind the speed
• BC Conservatives: who leads after October 24, and why the party's infighting suddenly went quiet
• Why the Eby snap election question will not go away
• Vancouver mayor lightning round: Ken Sim, Pete Fry, Kareem Allam, Rebecca Bligh and Colleen Hardwick
• Safety is the number one issue, and the St. Paul's "prison downtown" debate
• Could we see a 2018 repeat, and will Vancouver elect its first woman mayor?
• Free Kits Pool and the park board race

Advance voting starts Saturday, October 3. Municipal election day October 17. Provincial election day October 24.

Subscribe for weekly Vancouver, BC and national politics with zero spin.

Follow Jody: @jodyvance

Follow George: @george_affleck

sitkamedia.ca