For Immediate Release
March 6, 2019
Vancouver's Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) today emphatically refuted the claim by a major condo developer suggesting he donated $1200 to the civic party for the 2018 election.
COPE elected four candidates: City Councillor Jean Swanson, School Trustee Barb Parrott, and Parks Commissioners Gwen Giesbrecht and John Irwin.
"Neither our candidates nor the party received any money from the developer or his known representative" said COPE Co-chair Nancy Trigueros. "COPE did not solicit developer money, was not offered developer money, and would have rejected it in any case, as a matter of policy," she said.
The developer, Jon Stovell, was quoted in a CBC story, saying "he made equal personal donations to all major parties in last year's civic elections..."
He was explaining his donation to the Vancouver Green Party, which had been mistakenly accepted and was being returned to him. The Greens' also reject donations from developers.
COPE Councillor Swanson remarked, "It's pretty rich when the owner of scores of residential properties, boasts about donating to the civic party that helped lead the fight to stop renovictions."
She continued, "He was the one who tried to evict the Berkeley Towers tenants before getting a development permit."
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