Gregor Robertson pleas for voters to support Vision Vancouver candidates

Gregor Robertson makes plea for voters to support Vision Vancouver candidates

Gregor Robertson (Vision Vancouver)

Since leaving the mayoral office in 2018, Gregor Robertson has rarely publicly commented on political matters, but he is now voicing his support for his former party and its candidates.

In a release today, Robertson has made a plea for voters to support Vision Vancouver’s candidates running for City Council, Park Board, and School Board. The party is not running a mayoral candidate for the second consecutive election.

“In this moment of urgency for climate action, electing Vision Vancouver councillors will ensure real action — on land use reform, active transportation, and green leadership,” said Robertson in a statement.

“Cities around the world are looking to us to see what’s possible — Vancouver can and must reassume a global climate leadership role. Vision leaders turned Vancouver into one of the greenest cities in the world — it’s time to elect leaders with the courage to lead Vancouver once again.”

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Vision Vancouver is fielding three candidates for City Council, including current Park Board commissioner Stuart Mackinnon — who was previously with the Green Party — two candidates for the Vancouver Park Board, and five candidates for the Vancouver School Board.

Robertson did not run again in 2018, ending a decade-long mayorship that made him Vancouver’s longest-running mayor.

Since leaving office, he has found immense success as an executive for Nexii Building Solutions, a Vancouver-based green construction startup that has created a proprietary low-emission, low-cost alternative method of building construction. As of late 2021, the company had reached a valuation of CAD$1.55 billion (USD$1.23 billion), and it is the fastest company to reach the unicorn milestone (a valuation of $1 billion) in Canadian history.

Vision Vancouver also has the support of former Vancouver mayor and BC Premier Mike Harcourt, who asserts that “a progressive council is critical for the success of a progressive mayor.”

Harcourt was the mayor of Vancouver between 1981 and 1986, and the premier from 1991 to 1996.

“We need councillors who will fight to extend the Broadway Subway to UBC, the same way I fought against a freeway through Chinatown. That’s the work that Boldt, Barzegari, and Mackinnon will do at Vancouver City Council. We also need school trustees and park board commissioners that are ready to take action on climate adaptation, improve accessibility for people of all ages, and advocate for public education in our city,” said Harcourt.

Over the past week, Forward Together incumbent mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart has received the endorsement of former and current BC NDP MLAs and ministers. The Vancouver and District Labour Council (VDLC) and some other unions have also endorsed various candidates across left-leaning parties.

The civic election is scheduled for October 15, 2022.

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