“I REACH OVER A 1,000,000 READERS NOW YOU can reach all of Van- couver and its surrounding markets with your classified ad and one phone call, The Lower Mainland’s leading community newspapers — including the North Shore News — have com- bined theis markets so that classified advertisers can now blanket the entire metro Vancouver area, reaching twice VANCOUVER’S ASSOCIATED § NEWSPAPERS North Shore News, Richmond Review, Suntay Newn, as many readers as the . Vancouver Vancouver Courier, West Ender Enat Ender dailies. For more information see the ad on page 47 of today’s News. clean up ‘‘questionable Prompted by what he termed “very sleazy politicians who have been hanging around city hall a long time,’’ Ald. Rod Clark pro- posed a four-pronged election pol- icy aimed at preventing improper campaign behavior. But the motion that passed fail- ed to ensure the corrective policies would be adopted. Under Clark's proposal: * candidates would be required to fully disclose campaign finances and supporters * candidates would be recuired to approve all ads submitted on their behalf to the North Shore News. *senior city staff and bureaucrats would be prohibited from endorsing any candidates *an automatic vote recount would occur when two candidates are 50 votes or less apart Following an in-camera debate, council passed a considerably diluted version of the motion, directing the city clerk and ad- ministrator to ‘‘take under ad- visement the concerns of the coun- cil with respect to the endorsation of candidates by public officials and the consideration of a recount by the concerning said candidate by the candidate prior to publica- tion....”" “Nothing happened regarding the disclosure of campaign funds because that falls under provincial jurisdiction,”’ said city clerk Bruce Hawkshaw, who added that the recount issue also falls into that category. ‘*‘Council can’t instruct me, they can just ask me to take it under advisement. | take direction from the Municipal Act.”’ Similarly, the city administrator can not prohibit senior staff from endorsing candidates because it contravenes the Charter of Rights. And the North Shore News would be under no obligation to heed council’s request. Ald. Stella Jo Dean called Clark’s initiative ‘‘a waste of staff time and taxpayers’ money.” She said council knew the pro- - NEWS photo Terry Peters ff Gosals couldn’t be implemented 8 before requesting a report from SEYMOUR ‘RIVER hatchery. project’ manag Bill Caspell holds part of the river’s B staff and city solicitors. She sug- pe lation i in his hand The | contin he ah hatchery launched its 1988 fish 7 gested sour grapes over the 1985 election, in which Clark lost his aldermanic seat, motivated his ini- a NV WATERS DOWN PROPOSED POLICY AN ATTEMPT by a North Vancouver City alderman to election practices’ in the municipality has been essentially thwarted. By KAREN GRAM Contributing Writer Gative. “Those people (who supported Clark's proposals) can’t get over the 1985 election,"’ she said. In the 1985 election, full-page ads were published and glossy brochures were distributed suppor- ting four candidates, including Dean, and promoting a shopping centre for the Park and Tilford site. The four denied any knowi- edge of who paid for the advertis- ing. Clark said the developers for the Park and Tilford shopping centre proposal, BCE Development Corp. (formerly Daon), paid for the ads, He said he was also approached by a representative of the company promising to ‘‘organize and fund my campaign if my vote was right.”’ Clark said Dean opposed his election motion because ‘*she has the most to hide.’’ He said he re- quested a staff report because “there was some question in my mind as to what was and was not possible.’’ Clark said he hopes forcing candidates to disclose campaign contributers would discourage developers from buying support from aldermen. He said he wants all candidates to approve their advertisements ‘because in the past, people have stood up bare-faced in council and said they knew nothing about who supported them.” “It was much -ado about nothing,”’ said Dean, adding that financial disclosure is inconse- quential in municipal elections,- because very little money is spent. “How much money can a per- son spend when the most expensive thing is the ads in the North Shore News?’ Dean asked. Although Clark does not have the weight of council behind him, he said he intends to lobby the provincial government to change the Municipal Act so that financial disclosure is required and a re- count is automatic. “T will do it as Rod Clark, alderman, not as a representative of council,’’ he said.