Indo-Canadian Representation in Municipal Vancouver Politics (Tentative Title)

1. Indo-Canadian Representation in Municipal Vancouver Politics(Tentative Title) Kyle Warwick Political Science 492 Progress Report 2 December 1, 2010

2. Outline • Introduction (Changes in Scope, Overview) • Research Question • Hypothesis • Key Concepts • Other Concepts • Methodology • Challenges and Roadblocks

3. Changes in Emphasis Not completely fundamental in nature Richmond and Surrey now included as comparisons Much less detail on historical context Now analyzing candidate communications Also looking at voting behaviour literature Prescriptive solutions section essentially abandoned Complicating the notion of elites- i.e. Party activists

4. Overview/Review Vancouver’s elected representatives historically unrepresentative Diversity has been increasing in particular cases (Chinese at all levels, Indo-Canadians at provincial and federal levels) Indo-Canadians still rare in municipal government Indo-Canadians are 2nd largest minority in Vancouver Unrepresentative legislature considered problematic by numerous theorists

5. Research Question What explains the continued lack of Indo-Canadians in Vancouver municipal government, given Vancouver’s recent tendency to elect (relatively) ethnically representative legislative delegations?

6. Hypothesis Vancouver’s at large system is a significant cause, due to geographic clustering of Indo-Canadians Electoral system not the only factor, because Surrey and Richmond Councils have same electoral system, but less substantial representation gaps Therefore, other variables at play- next slides will analyze which ones

7. Updates to Lit Review New sources used in coming slides Variables are not organized by book Ravi and Krishna Pendakur- various John Porter- Vertical Mosaic Robert Putnam- Comparative Study of Political Elites Gary Cox- Making Votes Count WojciechCwalina et al. A Cross Cultural Theory of Voting Behaviour Samuel J. Eldersveld- Political Elites in Modern Societies Citizenship – John Stanley Rose

8. Primary Variables of Interest Electoral system Social networks Ethnic community size, concentration, unity Voter attitudes in ethnic communities, and at large Perceived importance of co-ethnic representation

9. Variables to Control Candidate visibility/profile Salience of various group labels to members, and for the wider public Generation of immigrant i.e. 1st or 2nd Strength of parties in given election Type of campaign strategies

10. Possible Additional Variables Influence of your/your parent’s home culture District magnitude Number of candidates Alphabetical order of candidates Cost of political campaign History of a given city Socio-economic status of candidates Unconscious racism

11. Additional Possible Variables Council vs Parks vs School board Policy traceablility Voter turnout, in ethnic communities, and wider community Characteristics of party activists Key causes of party cleavages Policy traceability

12. Tentative Interview Questions Do representatives see role as Burkean– do constituents agree Do ethnic party signups stay engaged between elections Salience of particular ethnic labels Influence of political traditions from one’s/parents culture Perceived importance of given offices Relevance of co-ethnic representation Perceived profile of certain candidates Key political actors in given community Ethnic activist engagement in non-election periods

13. Other Operationalization Ideas Ethnicity- super-impose census- it is available in detail Voting systems- straightforward- Cox but also others Social network- Putnam and Eldersveld Campaign literature analysis from Cwalina

14. Challenges and Suggestions Interview questions thus far are arguably more survey oriented- do I want more open-ended or different questions. Which of my variables should I not worry about Are my variables isolated, do they confound, overlap in ways I haven’t forseen? Any other suggestions?