[R-G] Critics call Getmovingbc.com a shill for Gateway project

[Anthony Fenton]

   Critics call Getmovingbc.com a shill for Gateway project
Straight Talk By Matthew Burrows
Publish Date: November 22, 2007

Card-carrying B.C. Liberal realtor Rudy Storteboom has denied he is  
connected to pro-Gateway Web site GetMovingBC.com, which was  
cofounded by Langley Township councillor Jordan Bateman.

"Get Moving BC I am familiar with, but I am not involved with it,"  
Storteboom told the Straight by phone. "I think township councillor  
Jordan Bateman might be involved in that. He is a friend of mine."

Storteboom confirmed he is "pro Gateway", sits on the riding  
association of Langley B.C. Liberal MLA Mary Polak–who is also pro  
Gateway–and has written letters to community papers stating his  
position. This has angered Donna Passmore, Gateway critic and  
coordinator of the Gateway 40 Citizens Network, who has concerns that  
GetMovingBC.com is a B.C. Liberal shill disguised as a grassroots  
organization.

The Straight previously reported that Passmore was unhappy that two  
card-carrying B.C. Liberals–Bateman and Port Coquitlam city  
councillor Greg Moore–kick-started the GetMovingBC.com site. Get  
Moving BC accepts donations, but is not registered as a society, and  
its advisory board and donors are in support of a "balanced"  
transportation system, according to information in an unsigned e-mail  
sent from an address on the Web site to the Straight in response to a  
query for information.

Last May 1, Passmore claimed Get Moving BC was disguising its true  
intentions. Bateman, vice president of B.C. Liberal minister Rich  
Coleman's Fort Langley–Aldergrove B.C. Liberal riding association,  
did not return calls by Straight deadline. However, Storteboom said  
Passmore is "way off base on a number of issues".

"The problem with people like Donna Passmore is they are using their  
opposition to Gateway as a political vehicle to try to embarrass the  
B.C. Liberal government," Storteboom said. "The fact is, we really  
need Gateway. The folks here south of the Fraser River, their traffic  
has been tied up in knots for years."

Responding to Storteboom's comments, Passmore said she has  
"absolutely no political axe to grind", adding that she was part of  
then-mayor Gordon Campbell's 1990 City of Vancouver Task Force on  
Atmospheric Change. She claims she helped Campbell out so that he  
could win accolades for the Clouds of Change report that came from it.

"My views have not changed since that time," Passmore said. "It is  
the premier who has flip-flopped. He has been totally inconsistent  
[with his support for Gateway], as has [B.C. Finance Minister and  
former Vancouver city councillor] Carole Taylor. I'm the one who has  
been true for over 20 years."