a

uunist. But. if he isn’t a com-
nist, what i is s he? ne

‘local patron. saint of- the com-

‘Tribune you:

munist newspaper’ Pacific _.

Tribune. cae ee been for years.

“time his name has’ appeared i in'the :-
ouldn’t: need”

Doug Colli

The paper’s editors love Rankin .
no less than they love Karl Marx
or whoever happens to be running

the Soviet Union. On April 26,

1974, they ran a picture of: him, ;
arid an announcement that his bir-
thday would be celebrated May 3. ‘
(‘Keep this date open...!’") »
‘Anyone’. who has -any. doubts
“about: ‘Rankin’s politics need only |:
read him. He never deviates from ;
“the Party. line.
On Jan. 11, 19

ins

e gel this straight °

fact, I have never ‘been a member of the: ‘then a Law Society Bencher, ‘that
g irty.””.— Vancouver mayoralty candidate.
‘Harry Rankin, Feb. 18,. 1986, to a caller on 1 the Dave Bar-:

he was not a communist ‘“‘or a
member © of. any association
holding communist.views”. . -
If he hadn’t signed; he says, he
would not have been admitted to
the Bar.(And he could just as ac-
curately state. that. if.-he: shouted
about’ his true views: today, he
would never become mayor.)
Twenty years ago, he was a bit

‘More frank, ‘He became an‘alder- ©

man in the civic elections of 1966
and on Dec. 15 of that year stated
“Iam not a communist in the ~
.technical sense,. in that 1 don’t
belong tothe Communist Party.

~The very name loses you votes...1 .
* prefer to. be called a leftist in-

- dependent.’’ But he. couldn’t
resist’ giving. the’ clenched ° fist
salite to. celebrate winning , a seat .
> on-council. '

On. May 3, 1967, he:was again
Stressing”™ that he... wasi. not: a.

‘member of the Communist: arty.

**Whether. it’s Russian‘: socialis1

. from fascism.

Rankin has more than once,

brought: city greetings : to Com-*
-munist Party ‘conventions in Van-:
.. couver. The April 11,.1984 issue -

of Tribune reported, for example,

that “Harry. Rankin opened: the :

Pog ‘ :

convention, ‘bringing ‘greetings -
from what he called the best Parts

“of.city council,’

ots Harry Rankin a “comimunist?
Is the Pope a Pole?:, a