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As members of the ruling civic party, the Non-Partisan Association, decide whether to keep or toss the city’s mayor as their leader, there also appears to be a push within the group to oust another of its elected officials.

Supporters of Mayor Sam Sullivan have been circulating a brochure encouraging members to nominate four people to run for the park board in November’s elections. Not among those mentioned: current park board commissioner Ian Robertson, the only sitting NPA commissioner intending to run for re-election.

Robertson is also the only sitting official to publicly back Sullivan’s opponent for the party’s mayoral nomination, Coun. Peter Ladner.

“The only conclusion I can draw is that I’ve been put in the penalty box for a timeout because of [my support for] Peter Ladner,” Robertson said in an interview at the Marriott Pinnacle hotel in Downtown Vancouver, where the NPA is holding its nomination meeting today.

Robertson said he has been up front and honest with Sullivan that he would not be getting his support.

“I’ve been very clear with the mayor that I had concerns about his ability to lead us into the next election,” Robertson said.

NPA members will choose four nominees for park board commissioner today. The remaining three will be chosen in the fall.

But the spotlight today is on the battle between Sullivan and Ladner. The two held a last-minute debate this morning before a handful of party members filing in to vote.

“I’m a little more concerned than the mayor about our prospects in the November elections,” Ladner said, repeating his assertion that Sullivan’s last three years in office have eroded public support for the NPA.

Voting ends at 4 p.m. In the meantime, organizers for both Sullivan and Ladner can be seen pacing back and forth in the hotel, where Sullivan’s team has booked six rooms for its supporters. Ladner’s team has booked one.