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Mayoral candidate Jim Green has long accused Downtown Eastside advocate Jamie Lee Hamilton of doing opponent Sam Sullivan's dirty work.

But while Hamilton has made no secret of her support for Sullivan’s mayoral bid, both she and Sullivan deny there’s any connection.

So what was Hamilton doing yesterday wielding an envelope addressed to her from Reputations Corp., the P.R. firm involved in Sullivan and the NPA’s council campaign?

Oh, nothing, according to Hamilton, who was holding a small news conference directly across from Green’s Victory Square campaign office. The independent council candidate said she was merely using the envelope to carry unrelated court documents on Green.

Reached in his office yesterday afternoon, Reputations public affairs director Allen Langdon laughed when asked if there was any relationship with Hamilton. Langdon, who runs NPA Coun. Peter Ladner's re-election campaign, said he didn't know why Hamilton had the envelope.

"I have no idea how she got an envelope from Reputations," Langdon said. "I'd be surprised if it had anything to do with us."

An hour later, Reputations president (and Sullivan’s campaign communications director) Wayne Hartrick had an answer.

The envelope must have been sent last year, Hartrick explained, when his firm worked on Sullivan’s successful Know Wards campaign against a changed civic voting system. Hamilton had supported Know Wards and requested brochures, Hartrick said.

For his part, Sam Sullivan set about further distancing himself from Hamilton, saying he would quiz Reputations on the issue, then adding that he had already told the P.R. firm not to have any dealings with Hamilton.

"I will ask questions about that for sure," Sullivan said when reached by phone yesterday afternoon. "... I've even asked about [Hamilton]. I have stressed there should be no support or connection to her."

Meanwhile, Vision Vancouver communications manager Clay Suddaby (formerly the executive director of the provincial NDP caucus) called the whole envelope incident (somewhat sarcastically) a "colossal coincidence." Suddaby likely didn't mind putting in his two cents either, on a day in which his candidate was slammed by Sullivan and former NPA mayor Philip Owen.

• The documents that were actually inside the said envelope were court documents on Green. Hamilton claims they show Green was involved in an early 90s incident in which a large sum of money went missing from the accounts of the Downtown Eastside Residents' Association. Green, who used to run the non-profit group, was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident.
• This is the second time in recent weeks that Hamilton, Green's former employee at DERA, has gone public with the allegation. Last month, the self-styled "Queen of Hearts" held a press conference in front of city hall claiming to have proof Green stole the funds, but declined to show it to the mass of reporters assembled. Yesterday's press conference was attended by three reporters.
• Green and Vision candidate Heather Deal are also suing Hamilton for libel. The suit is related to comments on her blog, which insinuated a relationship between Green and Deal. The lawsuit prompted Hamilton to invent this catchy phrase: "I'd rather be the Queen of Hearts than the King of Lawsuits." By his count, this is the second lawsuit Green's been involved in. By our count, and that of the B.C. Supreme Court's Vancouver registry, it's three.
• And finally, as first reported by Public Eye and 24 hours colleague Sean Holman, Reputations has in the past worked for US big-box chain Wal-Mart. Read Sean's story here. Wal-Mart, of course, had its controversial application for a Peter Busby-designed "eco-friendly" store on Marine Drive turned down by city council earlier this year. Mayor Larry Campbell, along with the NPA's Sullivan and Ladner, cast the only votes in Wal-Mart's favour.