A6-Wednesday, November 5, 1980 - North Shore News editorial page Council’ s duty The protests of the few remaining property owners affected by West Vancouver's proposed ban on further highrises, are understandable. Whether they are justifiable is another matter. The zoning amendment that went to public hearing Monday would limit future development to three-storey lowrises, causing future financial losses to the lan- downers in question. A potential 33-suite apartment tower fs more profitable than nine or ten townhouses on the same site. How far, however, is a landowner morally entitled to assume that the current zoning of his property ts necessarily permanent? Clearly it is not. In reverse situations developers themselves regularly apply for a more profitable “upward” rezoning — and successfully in appropriate cases. Investors in bonds, stocks and com- modities have to balance their hope of long- term gain against the risks that can.be caused by changing circumstances. Why land, alone, should be regarded as a completely risk-free investment is a good question — especially in view of the effect its use or abuse can have on hundreds of neighbors. That ts what the concept of zoning (and zoning changes) is all about. The first duty of local councils ts to the communities that elect them, not to private profit interests. In the present instance there is strong evidence that a majority of West Van residents now firmly supports the highrise ban. One may have some human sympathy for individual landowners concerned, though they might not do too badly even from townhouses. But council's legal and moral obligation is to listen to the voice of the people. Beads vs. chips Eat your heart out, IBM. In China a 22- year-old student has just won a province- wide competition in the use of the abacus. He breezed through complex mathematical problems in record-breaking time, flicking the beads of the ancient calculating device at the rate of 90 per minute. Not bad for a “computer” invented thousands of years ago — which NEVER goes on the blink! 1088 VOCCE OF MONTH APD WERT VancOUvER sunday news north shore news NEWS 965-2131 1) 391 Onsale Ave North Vane Oouver 4 ¢ V7M 2H (604) 985-2131 ADVERTISING 980-0511 Publisher CLASSIFIED 986-6222 Peter ‘oped h mn CHRAC UL ATION 986 1337 Associate Publisher Editor-in-Chioet Robert Graham Noel Wright Advortiaing Olrector tore Clear dwell Classified Manage: & Office Administrator Bern: Hithard Creative Director Tam Francis Production Hick Stonehouse Faye Mc Cae Managing Editor Andy Fraser Nows Editor Photography Cohwis lhoyed BE Nesweor th (te bee: Accounting Supervisor Barbara Keen North Shore News founded in POU an ar wuteprern bert LET Ere ty Newopaper and GQualNed undo Se bechube Mh buat Hl Par agr ager Ht i the fF xcise Tan Act In grubs act Worthenday and ‘aaeday try Noth Sthore froe Prana Ftd and diated to avery dem one tee: Noth Shore Second Clans Mail Megentratice — Nuirritoers yeany’. Subecrtptiona $20 per year batie troe Press lid All nights renerved we leveete TPPEC Ree PR Pace Nao resgpronealbilily meanuae Hipp Ace apten tae ar cee abe tas and pt tauren whine t cat oe abe te . stamped addressad return onverbigie VERTIEIE O CIRCULATION 60,870 Wodhenday, 49 BIB Keay ~o % SN OD THIS PAPER IS RECYCLABLE Leadership dangers for Tories OTTAWA (SF) - There's life in the Conservative Party, as the troops jockey for position in advance of the meeting in February which will decide the fate of our (Conservative) former Prime Minister Joe Clark. You won't find many Tones who say that they don't like Joe Clark. The common line ts that he’s a nice guy, but with him we can't win. Liberals, after all, put winning elections and holding power above everything else. Surely there’s a message for the Tomes in that Liberal dic- tum. The obvious aspirants to Joe Clark’s tattered Tory leadership mantle include people like Walher Baker, Flora) MacDonald, John Crosbie, and, perhaps, Brian Mulrooney. If leadership were simply a matter of ability, one might be temp- ted to pick Don Mazankowski, who did such a superb job as Transport Minister during the bref Tory blip of power. Feeling in the party is that one of the above — or When wi Canadian Comment BY PETER WARD perhaps another who is sull sitting in the weeds — will assume the leadership after the Tories go through their ritual self-immolation routine. In public Joe Clark's office is saying that anything more than 35 per cent asking for a leadership review at the coming convention would be disaster for Joe. In private these same people will concede that even 25 per cent calling formal review of leadership would force Joe to step down.. An outside and = non- partisan assessment in- dicates that the vote for a Tory leadership renew will be at least 30 per cent, and it could go to 40 per cent. To me, that means we will be having a Tory leadership convention sometime in the near future, likely before the “Herman, you've gotta learn to relax.” With only 10 days left before polling day this year’s municipal elections on the North Shore are beginning to look more and more like a party at which the guests fail to appear. The candidate and voter lethargy apparent to d. te 1s all the more = surpr.sing because, on past form, 1980 should have been one of the more “exciting” election years. Two of the North Shore's three mayor's chairs were up for grabs — a situation that amses only once every two years These twin mayoralty races normally bring out the crowds and set the pace for the accompanying = alder manic and school board contests They have invariably resulted in comsiderably better than average voter turnouts in the two municipalities affected North Vancouver [district and West Vancouver Ihis year on the council scene. it was all over bar the shouting on October 27 deadline the candidate papers the for filing of ACCLAMATION No challengers to North Van Distr t Mayor Don Bell or West Van Mayor Derrick Hamphreys Both other surfaced like 14 mayors mayors incumbent claewhere in BC were returned by acclamation for further two year (erms Seo also were West Vans three ipcumbent aldermen whose terms captred thas Doo Lanshafl (an 18 year veteran) Bob Hicks and John Hamphrics. Nobody lusted thei Joba North Van Districts three Incumbents month counctl aficr Aldcrmca Jim Ball, Peter Powell and Segal - looked almost to the end as though they gct Mary too oo maght away with acclamation. But in the final days before the deadline two outside con- tenders emerged in_ the persons of realtor Jim Fraser and Smithrite executive Franco Cecconi. However, Messrs. Fraser and Ceccon will have to get their running shoes on in the remaining 10 days. As late as Tuesday morning, details of their platforms were still awaited Meanwhile. as befits seasoned campaigners, all three incumbents hastened print “standing upon my statements The records, af you go that kind of thing and according to your individual viewpoint, are respectable But no sparks fet alone fire are as yet discernible on the North Van Dastmet alder manic battle field have with record” into for CITY PRIZE Oddly enough the only real cxcitement in this years alderman stakes is developing in North Vane ity which wasnt scheduled to have any Council clec Goons at allin 1980) But the mid term resignation oof Alderman Crotdon Cross opened ap a by clec tion vacancy Running hard already for the city ane former city alderman Rakph Hab, who lost outa year age by only another single scal foour votes Acteatcd bright aod Vay candidate young Dana laylos The Thard Man shower wv, far in getting off (he mark in the media 1 Mare Howard, also a former City alderman who hhe Hall elected by a ftatled ta be whisker last Noel Wright November If youre looking = for spectator thrills, North Van City ts where the aldermanic action ts Alternatively ringside seal at board battles The best bet as North concerned settle for a (he school cntcrtainment Van where the Citizens the North Van Voters Association are slugging Hout once more Phe CC A ts fabeiled by its opponents as the Association and “Cul costs atany cost’ movement COA members prefer to dese mbe thet educational poly as value for money They are fielding incumbent Emile Sarstleld lor othe | City) Cecoff Fenton and Alfred Sale (for the Dastrae tt) te contest the three vacancies NOVVA perhaps described as establishment best the pro Bloup is Indian « hief the City) Dorothy Lynas and Crawtord Kfllan (for the Toastracty represented by Philip loc toc umbe al (for end of the year. In 1967 the Tories named Robert Stanfield as leader, picking the man who could beat Lester Pearson. Stanfield, of course, faced Trudeau and lost. Will the Tones now pick the man — or woman — that they think can beat Trudeau, only to be faced with a different leader when election time comes? There are dangers in picking the leader which is thought to have the most general political appea) In general terms, the leader who is the best person is the right one — the one who is best equipped with a sense of values, a sense of how things work politically, and the right sense of Canada. These things must be combined with a leader who can ar- ticulate aspirations and ideals, and that’s where Joe Clark failed. It would be most unwise of the Tones to dump Clark simply for a pretty face, so to speak. If Clark is to retire as Tory leader, it should be in favor of an individual with much the same feelings for Canada, but with a better way of expressing them ll the party warm up? “MOTHERHOOD” LINE Both North Van school board factions at least have clearly defined and opposed educational philosophies. The same can hardly be said for West Van where. again, six candidates are out after three seats. Incumbents Norm Alban and Mark Sager (Canada's youngest school trustee) are up agains! veteran cam- paigner Gordon Rowntree and newcomers James Mercter, John Gregory and Doug Taylor. Aside from Mercier — who wants an “extra effort” school modelled on St George's and Crofton House to be established as a pace- setter within the West Van school system — the can didates following basically the same “motherhood - educational excellence. budget accountability and improved communication with the taxpayers In the are line cod a will boil down to records and personalities The sad) part of this vainspinng North Shore clechhon vista, of course 15 the effect am could have on voler turnout (last year 15% for North Van City, 27% for North Van Diastmet and 25% for West Van) A repeat of miscrable these percentages let alone any decrease in them would be pitiful) Beneath the seemingly biand = surtacc there arc numerous issucs especially oon the school boards, that vitally affect the taapaying voters and thet pocketbooks One can only hope that the party will at last warm up with both candidates and voters making the most of the neat 10 days and that the fatter will turn out tn strength on November U5 to make chances they can live with