ABC Vancouver party names candidates for Park Board ahead of election

ABC Vancouver party names 6 candidates for Park Board ahead of election

ABC Vancouver candidates for Vancouver Park Board commissioners: top row from left to right - Brennan Bastyovanszky, Laura Christensen, and Angela Haer; bottom row from left to right - Marie-Claire Howard, Scott Jensen, and Jaspreet Virdi. (ABC Vancouver)

Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver party has nominated candidates to fill six of the seven seats on the elected board of commissioners that govern the Vancouver Park Board.

“After four years of absent leadership, I’m confident in this team’s ability to fix the mess we currently see on Park Board,” said Sim, who is ABC’s mayoral candidate, in a statement.

“An ABC majority will make major investments to fix collapsing Park Board infrastructure and will expand allowed responsible consumption of alcohol to all parks with washrooms, and will launch a pilot to allow alcohol on beaches.”

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ABC’s candidates for Park Board commissioner include:

Brennan Bastyovanszky (former tech executive and founder of Vancouver Rogues Gay and Inclusive Rugby Club Brennan)
Laura Christensen (professional engineer and trainer of assistance dogs)
Angela Haer (educator),
Marie-Claire Howard (vice-president of operations and finance at Howard Employment Law, board chair for Alliance Francaise, and former journalist)
Scott Jensen (support worker and teacher with the Vancouver School Board)
Jas Virdi (pharmacist, and an athlete who has played Field Hockey for Team Canada)

ABC has by far the most candidates for Park Board of any major party and is the only party so far that is attempting to secure a majority.

But this also amounts to Sim reversing his previous position on assembling a slate of committed to being the last group of Park Board commissioners to eliminate the elected body and transfer its responsibilities to Vancouver City Council. At the time of this proposed campaign platform promise, if elected as mayor, in early 2021, Sim had yet to be formally nominated by ABC, which was established at around the same time.

Growing criticism over the Park Board deals with its handling of prolonged homeless encampments, especially the previous Strathcona Park encampment, as well as the proper maintenance of public parks, open spaces, and community and recreational facilities, and the slow pace of building new facilities to meet the needs of the city’s growing population. The Park Board has been criticized for not focusing on its basic responsibilities, and some controversy also surrounds the Stanley Park Drive bike lane.

Sim’s previous criticism of the Park Board in 2021 also brought to attention the lack of any public initiative by the body to assist the struggling Vancouver Aquarium, which ultimately resorted in the non-profit organization selling the attraction to a private company based in the US.

Since then, Sim under the ABC has been looking to change how the Park Board functions, instead of abolishing the elected body.

In an email to Daily Hive Urbanized to clarify ABC’s new position on the future of the Park Board under their governance, it is suggested that the process of axing the Park Board commissioners would be long and uncertain, given that such a change would require the provincial government to change legislation and the Vancouver Charter that governs how the City of Vancouver operates.

“With a provincial leadership race underway to determine the next Premier, it’s unlikely the City would receive immediate attention to make this change. We can’t wait to address the immediate challenges facing Park Board,” reads the email.

Additionally, ABC specifically highlights the landscape has changed since Sim’s earlier commitment, including the number of stories and accounts around crumbling Park Board facilities and the poor state of sports fields.

“Urgent action is what is required now. Things have changed and we have to change along with it,” adds the email.

Although ABC and Sim are no longer looking to abolish the Park Board, the idea has gained a bit of traction. A June 2022 survey by Research Co. found there is growing support to abolish the Park Board’s elected body and to transfer its responsibilities to City Council, with 52% of likely voters in support — up from a similar survey in November 2020 when 44% were in support.

The current Park Board, over the past four years, has largely voted along ideological lines, with the majority of left-wing commissioners under the COPE, Green, and Vision Vancouver (two commissioners switched to Vision this year) parties often driving key decisions over the minority of centre-right/right-wing commissioners under the NPA.

ABC has also nominated seven candidates to secure Vancouver city councillor seats, including operations engineer Lenny Zhou, former journalist Peter Meiszner, former Vancouver Police Department constable and spokesperson Brian Montague, non-profit executive Mike Klassen, and incumbent city councillors Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, and Sarah Kirby-Yung.

The civic election is scheduled for October 15, 2022.

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