Vancouver Civic Election 2022

[bluefox]

Originally Posted by s211

I'm curious about waiting until after the election. If BC United somehow got into power, I can't see them wanting to keep the park board either. I get the sense that the park board is the only group clamouring for its retention.

That said, I never took any poli-sci courses.

It would be easy for any party that is not the NDP to try to use this issue as a "this is not democratic / they have no mandate to do this" in a provincial election campaign to try to hold or win seats in Vancouver.

Whether it would work is a different story.

[Migrant_Coconut]

The Greens, maybe - I can't see any universe where United FC marches to war over keeping the Parks Board.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

The Greens, maybe - I can't see any universe where United FC marches to war over keeping the Parks Board.

The PB has few defenders beyond current and past PB members. That should tell you a lot.

People who hate ABC complain about the process itself, that's about it.

[Jimbo604]

DailyHive: City of Vancouver appoints new chief urban planner from Calgary
Kenneth Chan | Mar 20 2024, 11:54 am
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/josh-white-vancouver-chief-urban-planner

"Josh White has been appointed as the new General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability (PDS) for the City of Vancouver.

The announcement of the appointment was made today, and it follows the sudden departure of chief urban planner Theresa O’Donnell six months ago.

White has held various leadership positions within the City of Calgary’s planning development department, including his previous role as director of growth strategies and his current role as co-chief urban planner of Calgary, which he has held for more than two years."

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by Jimbo604

DailyHive: City of Vancouver appoints new chief urban planner from Calgary
Kenneth Chan | Mar 20 2024, 11:54 am
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/josh-white-vancouver-chief-urban-planner

"Josh White has been appointed as the new General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability (PDS) for the City of Vancouver.

The announcement of the appointment was made today, and it follows the sudden departure of chief urban planner Theresa O’Donnell six months ago.

White has held various leadership positions within the City of Calgary’s planning development department, including his previous role as director of growth strategies and his current role as co-chief urban planner of Calgary, which he has held for more than two years."

I hope he's got a side gig to afford that one bedroom apartment here.

[Changing City]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I hope he's got a side gig to afford that one bedroom apartment here.

He's probably happy to leave somewhere where "engagement sessions regarding housing have seen some extremely poor behaviour including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, verbal abuse and intimidation."

[GenWhy?]

Originally Posted by whatnext

I hope he's got a side gig to afford that one bedroom apartment here.

I could be wrong, but I heard his salary is $250k? (might have been what he was paid in Calgary)

[Wooster]

Been a long time since I posted here. But hi, that’s me. 👋

Looking forward to the move to Vancouver.

Originally Posted by Jimbo604

DailyHive: City of Vancouver appoints new chief urban planner from Calgary
Kenneth Chan | Mar 20 2024, 11:54 am
https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/josh-white-vancouver-chief-urban-planner

"Josh White has been appointed as the new General Manager of Planning, Urban Design, and Sustainability (PDS) for the City of Vancouver.

The announcement of the appointment was made today, and it follows the sudden departure of chief urban planner Theresa O’Donnell six months ago.

White has held various leadership positions within the City of Calgary’s planning development department, including his previous role as director of growth strategies and his current role as co-chief urban planner of Calgary, which he has held for more than two years."

[jollyburger]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Been a long time since I posted here. But hi, that’s me. 👋

Looking forward to the move to Vancouver.

Good luck and hope you stick around for a while

[madog222]

Welcome to the best coast! Best of luck.

[BaddieB]

Originally Posted by Wooster

Been a long time since I posted here. But hi, that’s me. 👋

Looking forward to the move to Vancouver.

I hope you're able to do a lot of meaningful change, especially with Bill 47.

[Migrant_Coconut]

'Poor fiscal management': Vancouver mayor's budget ask comes under fire

Link

Some Vancouver city councillors are questioning why Mayor Ken Sim needs more funding for his mayoral office.

The mayor’s 2024 budget is $1.47 million, one of the highest budgets compared to his predecessors. On Tuesday, his office is asking council to divert $80,000 initially approved for the city clerk’s office.

The funds were previously approved by the ABC-majority council at a meeting in December.

According to a report from City Manager Paul Mochrie(opens in a new tab), the funds are for a new administrative role for the mayor who will help with scheduling and other related functions.

“Apparently, the work that the mayor would like the $80,000 to be directed to is more political in nature, so it’s not appropriate to have it in the clerk's office,” said Pete Fry, a councillor with the Green Party.

Fry called the mayor’s request to council hypocritical, citing his 2022 campaign criticism of former Mayor Kennedy Stewart for his budgetary decisions.

“Ken Sim has one chief of staff, but a far larger staff in general and a far larger budget as well,” Fry said. “There is a fair degree of hypocrisy in him making hay of Kennedy Stewart’s spending, when in fact, he’s spending significantly more and it’s far more opaque...”

... One City Coun. Christine Boyle said the decision to add another staff member to his team raises questions.

“One of which is, back in December, was the mayor’s office envisioning it to be this political decision?” she said. “To see a 40-per-cent increase in the mayor’s office budget, while everyone else is holding tight is poor leadership and poor fiscal management.”

Former Vancouver city councilor George Affleck agrees with Boyle.

“When he comes to the polls in two years to run again, these are the tough questions he's going to be asked: What did you do with our money?” Affleck said...

When you got OneCity and ex-NPA agreeing on something, somebody done goofed.

... Fry also questioned why funds from the mayor’s office were paid to a public affairs firm called Wellington Advocacy. Since 2023, Fry said, the mayor has spent nearly $80,000 in monthly retainer fees for these services. He added the firm has ties to Alberta's United Conservative Party.

“What is Wellington Advocacy doing advising the mayor?” Fry said. “And on what? I don’t know and the public don’t know. And this is taxpayer money, after all..."

[whatnext]

Looks like the mayor needed some more swagger by converting a boardroom into a private gym. Not a good look Peter & co....

Vancouver mayor changed boardroom into makeshift gym: councillor
It appears one of the boardrooms at Vancouver City Hall was turned into a gym. Coun. Pete Fry posted an image of it to social media. (Courtesy Pete Fry)
By Sonia Aslam
Posted June 26, 2024 6:59 am. Last Updated June 26, 2024 7:50 am.

The spending habits and priorities of Vancouver’s mayor are being called into question after it appears one of the boardrooms at City Hall was turned into a gym.

Green Party Coun. Pete Fry posted an image of the boardroom to social media. Scattered sparsely around the carpet is some workout equipment, including what looks to be a Peleton bike, a squat rack, and one set of dumbells.

Fry says back in early January, staff were notified via email by City Manager Paul Mochrie that the mayor and his staff needed to use the Ceremonial Boardroom and the Grouse Room, but didn’t explain why.

The memo stated, in part, that it was for “regular operations of the Mayor and his office team.”...

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/06/26/vancouver-mayor-boardroom-gym-spending/

[Vin]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Looks like the mayor needed some more swagger by converting a boardroom into a private gym. Not a good look Peter & co....

Vancouver mayor changed boardroom into makeshift gym: councillor
It appears one of the boardrooms at Vancouver City Hall was turned into a gym. Coun. Pete Fry posted an image of it to social media. (Courtesy Pete Fry)
By Sonia Aslam
Posted June 26, 2024 6:59 am. Last Updated June 26, 2024 7:50 am.

The spending habits and priorities of Vancouver’s mayor are being called into question after it appears one of the boardrooms at City Hall was turned into a gym.

Green Party Coun. Pete Fry posted an image of the boardroom to social media. Scattered sparsely around the carpet is some workout equipment, including what looks to be a Peleton bike, a squat rack, and one set of dumbells.

Fry says back in early January, staff were notified via email by City Manager Paul Mochrie that the mayor and his staff needed to use the Ceremonial Boardroom and the Grouse Room, but didn’t explain why.

The memo stated, in part, that it was for “regular operations of the Mayor and his office team.”...

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2024/06/26/vancouver-mayor-boardroom-gym-spending/

At least now there's no excuse for City Councilors/staff to waste tax payer money on expensive gym membership when they can work out in City Hall premises.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Vin

At least now there's no excuse for City Councilors/staff to waste tax payer money on expensive gym membership when they can work out in City Hall premises.

There's already a gym there.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Stewart's council may have been near-useless, but at least they weren't freaking corrupt.

[WarrenC12]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Stewart's council may have been near-useless, but at least they weren't freaking corrupt.

This is just a distraction though, and small dollars if any. Sim says he bought the equipment himself.

Is this better or worse than sending Quebec money to sue somebody? Asking for a former Mayor and Council.

[chowhou]

Originally Posted by Migrant_Coconut

Stewart's council may have been near-useless, but at least they weren't freaking corrupt.

Well I remember this at least:

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-spent-mo...ring-the-pandemic-s-early-days-1.5108784

Not necessarily taking a side here, but the article seems to claim that although this room is occupied by the ABC staff they relocated the boardroom to another room. I suppose if the claim is true that this room is directly attached to the already existing mayor's office and is part of the mayor's official suite, is there really a concern if the mayor uses it for not strictly political purposes? Would it have been better if it was a coffee bar instead or a private washroom? I see no taxpayer money used and the operations of city hall not affected, nor any abuse of power here.

I think it's a little ironic that people were complaining that Sim wasn't spending enough time at city hall at the start of his tenure, and now we seem to be complaining that it seems like he's planning on spending more time in city hall.

[Migrant_Coconut]

Originally Posted by WarrenC12

This is just a distraction though, and small dollars if any. Sim says he bought the equipment himself.

Is this better or worse than sending Quebec money to sue somebody? Asking for a former Mayor and Council.

They didn't actually send it, and it was "only" $10k. They did opt for (up to) $660k for a class-action lawsuit against Big Oil, which was stupid, but IDK if that one ever happened. YMMV on whether pet causes > personal kickbacks.

Originally Posted by chowhou

Well I remember this at least:

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/vancouver-spent-mo...ring-the-pandemic-s-early-days-1.5108784

Fair. At the current rate of spending though ($100k in December, $80k last week, etc etc), it's going to be a lot more than $300k by the next election.

Originally Posted by chowhou

Not necessarily taking a side here, but the article seems to claim that although this room is occupied by the ABC staff they relocated the boardroom to another room. I suppose if the claim is true that this room is directly attached to the already existing mayor's office and is part of the mayor's official suite, is there really a concern if the mayor uses it for not strictly political purposes? Would it have been better if it was a coffee bar instead or a private washroom? I see no taxpayer money used and the operations of city hall not affected, nor any abuse of power here.

I think it's a little ironic that people were complaining that Sim wasn't spending enough time at city hall at the start of his tenure, and now we seem to be complaining that it seems like he's planning on spending more time in city hall.

AFAIK it's still supposed to be public/civic space, or at least accessible to all the councillors, not just the ABC ones.

“The door is normally locked to the non-ABC councillors, they’re all key-card door swipes and so we haven’t been able to access that room,” explained Fry.

I highly doubt Ken used his own money here. Okay, he's spending more time in office, but we kinda need him to spend that time doing mayor stuff; right now, the new intern spending their entire day browsing social media is probably subject to more oversight/accountability than the mayor.

[CanSpice]

Originally Posted by Vin

At least now there's no excuse for City Councilors/staff to waste tax payer money on expensive gym membership when they can work out in City Hall premises.

If you read the article...

“The door is normally locked to the non-ABC councillors, they’re all key-card door swipes and so we haven’t been able to access that room,” explained Fry.