David Eby will run for Vision Vancouver- my almost hero

David Eby (Pivot Legal Society) will officially announce tomorrow that he will be running for council with Vision Vancouver's backing.

Tremendous considering David Eby is a local hero.
I just wish he had decided to run with COPE. (In my view he will win no matter what party is backing him- granted he'll need a first year to get more name recognition amongst those who aren't awesome enough to know the work he does)

But seeing where COPE is at now I can see why he did it.

Political Opportunity theory, a social movement theory that predicts why social action/change occurs, states that social movement actors and organizations find "windows of opportunity" in an environment or setting to make a political impact/ make political gains for a movement (see Kreisi 2007).
Couple that with Rosenthal (2000) "…the concessions that have been granted on the local and national level are not the result of any single form of pressure, but the result of what I have called "the good cop/bad cop" dynamic in which concessions are granted to a more "deserving" group to coopt, discredit, or otherwise undermine more militant actions and radical demands of "undeserving" groups" (124).

Now this works a tad differently given that Vision and COPE are the political groups and NOT the social movement groups (grassroots and otherwise) that usually lobby the government for social change. but really, the same rules apply.

COPE is being seen as "bad cop" right now and many (both in political and non-political employ) are painting the picture of COPE's unprofessionalism and general lack of cohesion. Doesn't matter whether or not that is true, because right now Vision Vancouver is doing so much of a better job being the viable image of the left (even though, in my opinion, they are not truly left).

Anyhow, David Eby. Vote for him this round. maybe he'll run as an independent one day.

he still rocks my world.