Vision Vancouver’s to-do list in their first 100 days

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Vision Vancouver has won a third term at the helm of the City of Vancouver. Along with making good on its promise to listen more and change its ways, the party also has an important to-do list as the big issues come back to the fore. Here are the top five:

1. Mobilize the 'yes' vote for the transit referendum

Every mayor in the region needs to get cracking on this, says transit advocate and former city councillor Gordon Price. Mr. Robertson will have to play a leadership role, especially since he made the Broadway subway a major part of his campaign. And that will have to start immediately.

"The campaign really only has a six-week window, if it starts essentially after the new year," Mr. Price said. "They've got to put together all the machinery."

The province demanded the regional referendum on new sources of money for transit improvements beyond fares and the gas, property and parking-stall taxes. Mayors have suggested a regional carbon tax, a sales tax, or a vehicle levy based on distance and a comprehensive road-pricing system long-term for $7.5-billion over 10 years.

That would provide a Broadway subway to Arbutus, three light-rail lines in Surrey and new rapid-bus lines in many suburbs.

2. Keep the promise to find new ways to listen to the public and be more accountable

Party insiders acknowledged on Saturday night, even as Vision's young supporters celebrated, that they need to make good on Gregor Robertson's promise to be better at listening to the public and providing information.

The mayor will have to do more than shuffle a few people around in communications or start more consultations. Many people are deeply suspicious about the negotiations between the city and developers over the benefits or cash that developers have to give as community contributions in exchange for rezoning.

Toronto has an auditor-general, a post established in 2002, and an integrity commissioner, initiated in 2004. The province also required a lobbyist registrar and an ombudsman, as of 2006, Toronto communications officer Deborah Blackstone said.

All of those, and a new approach to public engagement, will need to be considered.

3. Negotiate for winter homeless shelters

Talks about how many shelter beds, where they will be and who will pay for them went in the deep freeze during the election campaign. The mayor will need to be on the phone on Monday morning to get action.

In the past, BC Housing has been less than thrilled that the city holds public meetings only the week or day before a homeless shelter opens, which inevitably sparks a backlash. The provincial agency will undoubtedly demand that the city demonstrate it will take a less heavy-handed approach before agreeing to anything.

4. Make changes to city staff

"They will have to make decisions around personnel that will set the tenor for the new administration," Mr. Price said before the election results were known. That would have been obvious under a new Non-Partisan Association administration, but it is equally true for Vision Vancouver.

Vision's hand-picked city manager, Penny Ballem, has been a deeply divisive administrator. Although a brilliant negotiator and strategist on some issues, and an indefatigable worker, she has alienated a huge number of people at city hall with her insistence on controlling so many decisions, from major to minor. The city's general manager of planning, Brian Jackson, is also viewed with suspicion by some residents after a massive set of towers mysteriously appeared in a community plan for Grandview-Woodlands.

5. Figure out how to work with a park board controlled by a different party

This has never happened before in the city's history. And although the park board is nominally independent, most of its operating money comes from the city.