A few familiar faces, as well as some new ones, are running for city council with Burnaby First, as announced at the coalition’s first two town hall meetings.
Former TEAM Burnaby candidate Ray Power has officially joined the coalition’s council slate, along with newcomers Jason Chan, Matthew Hartney and Linda Hancott, wife of BFC mayoral hopeful Daren Hancott. Former Parents’ Voice school trustee candidate Charter Lau also announced he was running for council, and Shakila Jeyachandran, who was running for school board, is now also seeking a council seat.
“We had a long vetting process and we had a couple people switch from one position to the other,” explained Daren regarding the construction of the slate.
They join former independent candidate Nick Kvenich and ex-Parents’ Voice school trustee contender Helen Ward – who announced their candidacy in August – on the full slate.
As well, the BFC now has six members running for school board, including former independent Franca Zumpano-Luongo, Janice Beecroft of the Burnaby school district, and new candidates Maria Parente and Keith Tong. The BFC previously announced former Parents’ Voice spokeswoman Heather Leung and retired teacher Ben Seebaran as school board candidates.
During the second two-hour meeting in North Burnaby, members of the coalition called for change at city hall, echoing sentiments gathered from residents over the past few months.
“It’s loud and clear from knocking on doors that people want change,” said Daren. “I want to bring that with my team – change and transparency, with accountability – to city hall.”
Linda said the Burnaby Citizens Association is not listening to the real issues of Burnaby residents, and Ward – whose father ran for the BCA decades ago – said council has “lost touch with its roots” of NDP pioneers Tommy Douglas and J.S. Woodsworth.
But perhaps the most scathing remark came from Hartney, a professional accountant specializing in government. He paraphrased Sir John A. MacDonald, who said a hardworking government is required for a great city, province or country.
“I wonder, how do we have a hard working government for the community, for the people, when it’s complimentary golf, vacations that are paid for? That, to me, doesn’t reflect the intent of what we’re talking about when we have hard working governments in Canada and in our communities,” he said.
Hartney also stressed the importance of voting, bringing up Burnaby’s 23-per-cent voter turnout from the last municipal election.
“That’s a sign of poor government. This is your money, this is your city, this is your vote.”
Many of the coalition members come from different political backgrounds, but Power acknowledged that while they may disagree on certain issues, they will work together for the residents of Burnaby.
“I’m the 11th of 12 children, so when I get together with a group, I expect a difference of opinion,” he said. “Anybody who has grown up in that environment understands it’s not just ‘yes’ or ‘no’ all the time, there has to be different views and you have to accommodate, you have to listen.”
Daren noted the BFC will announce its platform shortly, and citizens have two more town hall meetings to express their concerns to Burnaby First. The meetings are scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 22 and Thursday, Oct. 30.
“We thought the most important thing is to have a good platform for the citizens of Burnaby, and obviously to offer you democratic choice,” he said. “There’s been one party for over a decade and that isn’t good for democracy in our province and in our country.”
