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Gregor Robertson is a Canadian politician, currently the Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia. He was elected as part of the Vision Vancouver party slate. He previously served as a MLA for Vancouver-Fairview, as a member of the New Democratic Party of British Columbia until his resignation to run for the mayoral position.
[edit] BackgroundAfter graduating in 1982 from Carson Graham Secondary School, he enrolled at the University of British Columbia before transferring to Colorado College.[2] He graduated from Colorado College with a BA in English. Until the age of 21 he planned to become a medical doctor. He pursued an undergraduate fellowship at Stanford University, yet was subsequently rejected when applying to the University of British Columbia medical school.[3] He was surprised by his sense of relief and this led to a period of soul-searching.[3] He spent time cowboying in the Cariboo[2] and then chose to sail around the Pacific with his wife for 18 months eventually settling in New Zealand and pursuing farm work.[3] Upon returning to Canada at the age of 25 he purchased acreage in Glen Valley near Fort Langley and became a farmer.[2] Robertson went on to co-found Happy Planet, a Vancouver-based company that produces and markets organic fruit beverages.[2] His business received the Vancouver Mayor's Environmental Award for exemplary achievement in 2003[citation needed] and the next year, he received the Ethics in Action Award.[4] Later he was named one of Canada’s “Top 40 under 40” by The Globe and Mail and Business in Vancouver.[citation needed] He was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2005 election as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party after defeating trade union leader Judy Darcy in a high profile battle for the party's nomination. He then defeated Liberal Virginia Greene in the general election. During his time as the MLA for Vancouver-Fairview, Robertson served as the Opposition Critic for Small Business.[citation needed] He also served as the Co-Chair of the Caucus Climate Change Taskforce. [5] [edit] 2008 Mayoral campaignIn February 2008, Robertson announced that he would run for Mayor of Vancouver. In June 2008, Robertson secured the Vision Vancouver party's nomination as mayoral candidate[6], defeating Raymond Louie and Allan De Genova.[7] Robertson soon announced his resignation from the Legislative Assembly effective July 15, 2008.[8] His main rival was Peter Ladner of the Non-Partisan Association. In November 2008, Robertson came under scrutiny after reporters discovered that he had an unpaid transit infraction fine from the SkyTrain system. While the public generally appeared willing to accept his explanation that the original infraction was a mistake, he was criticized by some for attempting to spin his failure to pay into a politically positive statement. Robertson ultimately paid the fine.[9] He was elected by a solid margin in the 2008 municipal election. Seven of the ten seats on Vancouver City Council also went to Robertson's Vision Vancouver party. "It was a hard-fought campaign," he told supporters gathered at the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver, "but there is far more that unites us than divides us."[10] Robertson's campaign received donations from at least two American supporters.[11] Councilor Ellen Woodsworth, who ran as part of the coalition led by Robertson in the 2008 election, later called for a ban on foreign campaign donations such as those received by Robertson.[11] [edit] Mayoral term[edit] Homelessness issues[edit] Homeless Emergency Action Team (HEAT)On December 9, 2008 he announced low-barrier HEAT shelters to assist Vancouver’s homeless citizens during an extremely cold winter,[12] which were filled to capacity.[13] He secured funding from the province within a week of taking office. During the next few months, the shelters helped an average of 200 people a night get off the street.[14] Both the Vancouver Police and local BIAs credited the shelters for helping reduce street disorder and aggressive panhandling.[15] Two of the shelters in a residential neighbourhood near a daycare centre and senior housing facility at the North end of the Granville Street Bridge were controversial. Community residents cited concerns with lack of public consultation, fights, public urination, defecation, public sex, and open drug use.[16][17] British Columbia Housing Minister Rich Coleman cited the need for laying out rules of operation and the need for better community consultation.[16] He called Gregor Robertson's bargaining on housing homeless people “amateurish”[18] and later apologized for the remark. Robertson reached an agreement with Housing Minister Rich Coleman and came to a mutual decision to close one shelter and reassess another.[18] The second controversial shelter shut down on August 5, 2009, as alternate housing was found.[19] Later that year, Penny Ballem, the unelected city manager, notified council about a Federal proposal from the Mental Health Commission of Canada to address the homeless crisis by turning the 102-room low-budget Bosman's Hotel on Howe Street near Helmcken Street into an experiment designed to see if aggressive health treatment along with housing could help the same target population. Council will decide on the proposal in the Fall of 2009.[20] Council member Kerry Jang was said to be behind the Vancouver portion of the project.[21] On September 15, 2009, Vancouver city staff issued a report warning Mayor Robertson and the City Council that they should no longer expect the HEAT shelters to be funded after the 2009-2010 fiscal year.[22][23] [edit] Mental health advocate positionDuring the 2008 campaign Robertson promised he would establish a mental health advocate position,[24] as previously recommended by Vision Vancouver councilor Heather Deal.[25] In September 2009, it was announced that there were no plans to do so, and that instead the task would be added to the responsibilities of city staff.[26] [edit] Green issues[edit] Greenest City Action TeamOn February 25, 2009, Mayor Gregor Robertson announced the members of the Greenest City Action Team in support of his campaign promise to make Vancouver the greenest city in the world.[27][28] In April 2009, Robertson and the Greenest City Action Team released a report outlining quick-start recommendations to move aggressively on its green plan.[29] The report focused on three key areas: jobs and the economy, greener communities and protecting human health.[30] [edit] Park board independenceIn June 2009, Robertson and city councilor Raymond Louie were accused by Vancouver city councilor Suzanne Anton, a member of the opposition party, of attempting to destroy the independence of the park board by centralizing budget oversight.[31] Aaron Jasper, a Vision Vancouver member of the park board, called on the city council to restore the decentralized budget control.[31] In September 2009 Susan Mundick, the general manager of the board, announced her retirement.[32] Penny Ballem, the city manager of Vancouver hired by Mayor Robertson, stripped Mundick of all routine transitional duties.[33] Ballem then stated she would help the park board choose Mundick's replacement, a selection process city hall traditionally had not been involved in.[34] In response, Suzanne Anton urged Mayor Robertson and the city council to limit Ballem's control of the park board.[34] [edit] Staff hiringOn September 1, 2009 Penny Ballem, the unelected city manager of Vancouver, announced that Sadhu Aufochs Johnston, the former Chief Environmental Officer and Deputy Chief of Staff of Chicago, would be hired as Deputy City Manager to lead the city's environmental efforts.[35] He is scheduled to begin work on November 2, 2009.[36][dated info] [edit] Transportation issues[edit] Canada LineRobertson was a strong supporter of Cambie Street merchants and spoke regularly about hardships from the Canada Line construction.[37] He called the handling of the rail line construction an "injustice."[38] On March 23, 2009 Robertson testified in a lawsuit brought by a Cambie Street merchant in the B.C. Supreme Court regarding damage to her business from the construction[37], a lawsuit for which the merchant was awarded $600,000 by the B.C. Supreme Court due in part to the fact that there was insufficient action to mitigate the effects of Canada Line construction on Cambie Street merchants.[39] On the Canada Line opening day of August 17, 2009 Robertson said Greater Vancouver needed more rapid transit but the Canada Line was a "great start" and that he was a "Johnny-come-lately" to the project.[40] [edit] Toll proposalOn September 17, 2009 Mayor Robertson called for adding a toll to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, the primary driving route between Vancouver and Whistler, British Columbia; as well as to all major crossings of the Fraser River to help fund Translink.[41] British Columbia Minister of Transportation Shirley Bond dismissed the proposal by stating that the Province has no plans to add a toll to the Sea-to-Sky Highway, and that the Province was not contemplating a change in tolling strategy.[42] [edit] Bicycling issuesIn an April 2008 speech to a Critical Mass rally, Robertson requested the assistance of Critical Mass riders to help get him elected.[43] He took part in the April 2008 ride by illegally riding without a helmet to show his support for the protesters.[44] However in July 2009, after he was elected, he changed his mind and expressed that he was "pissed off" at Critical Mass and would not join the ride.[45][46] In July 2009 Robertson's Burrard Bridge bicycle lane trial was initiated to determine whether creating a new protected bike lane is a viable solution to increase the safety and comfort of cyclists and pedestrians while maintaining an effective flow of traffic. This was done over complaints from local merchants that cited lack of consultation and a negative impact on their businesses.[47][48] According to city statistics, in the weeks following the bike trials start, cyclists increased by 30%.[49] Despite widespread media speculation that the trial would be a failure, the trial turned out to have a relatively smooth start.[50] Three days into the trial, a local merchant reported a 46% drop in sales.[51] The first three unaudited weeks of pedestrian, cycling and vehicle traffic data from the trial show cycling and pedestrian traffic has remained steady and vehicle traffic has continued to drop compared to pre-trial levels.[49][52] On August 24, 2009 the Vancouver Police Department announced a sharp increase in bicycle theft, with the first 3 weeks of August experiencing a 53 percent increase in thefts over 2008,[53] but VPD spokesperson Constable Jana McGuinness has said there was no link between this rise in theft and the lane reallocation trial.[54] Six weeks into the trial another local merchant reported a 25% drop in sales, and a local restaurant reported a 30% drop in sales.[55] [edit] Gordon Campbell comments controversyOn March 30, 2009 Robertson gave a glowing introduction for Premier Gordon Campbell, the leader of the British Columbia Liberal Party.[56] On April 9, 2009 a member of Robertson's Vision Vancouver caucus, Geoff Meggs, stated that Robertson regretted the language he used as being "unguarded" and that it was intended to build a relationship with the governing provincial party.[56] However Robertson lost support from former Vision Vancouver executive board member Mike Bruce, who resigned from Vision Vancouver on May 7, 2009 and stated he was encouraging other members to do the same, based on his claim that Robertson had not responded to a message Bruce had sent regarding his concerns about the Campbell remarks.[57] Bruce was concerned that Robertson had not publicly addressed concerns or explained the issue to Vision Vancouver members.[57] Bruce accused Robertson of "tremendous disrespect" and "an incredible lack of leadership and a respect for your colleagues."[57] Robertson stated, "I was over-exuberant in introducing the premier to an international audience...There were almost no voters there. I wasn’t thinking politically...But given that we’re so close to an election, some of my comments were misconstrued by people."[58] On May 19, 2009 Robertson sent a congratulatory letter to Campbell with a handwritten note that started with "Congrats" and continued, "looking forward to a very productive run-up to the Games and a strong partnership for Vancouver’s future!"[59] [edit] Bylaw changesIn July 2009 Robertson led the Vancouver City Council to pass several temporary bylaw changes that would be in effect during the 2010 Winter Games.[citation needed] These bylaws were controversial for some civil liberties advocates who argued that they "make it more difficult to exercise [the] fundamental constitutional rights to free speech, peaceful assembly and free expression."[60] As part of the changes city manager Penny Ballem, an unelected official, was given special powers that were referred to by Coalition of Progressive Electors councillor Ellen Woodsworth as "wide open carte blanche."[61] Robertson defended council's position, explaining the bylaw changes were necessary given what Vancouver is expected to achieve in February 2010. According to Robertson, "It is our ultimate obligation to ensure the safety and security of people who are in our city and this, I think, addresses a lot of the concerns proactively on that level while respecting the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. This is a temporary set of changes we're putting it in place for a special event."[62] [edit] Vancouver charter amendmentOn January 12, 2009 Robertson requested an amendment to the Vancouver Charter to allow the city to borrow $458 million to fund the completion of the 2010 Olympic Village in False Creek without seeking approval from taxpayers in an election-day plebiscite.[63] Robertson said this was due to extraordinary circumstances.[63] The amendment was passed on January 18, 2009 in an emergency session of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia.[64][65] [edit] FamilyRobertson, his wife Amy, and their four children Hanna, Jinagh, Satchel and Terra live in a 3000 square foot home in the Douglas Park neighbourhood of Vancouver with a single tenant and a cat.[66] [edit] References
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