Question 10

10. Is there anything else you would like to share about yourself or your platform?

Stephen MENON (200) – There’s one thing about my candidacy I would ask every reader to consider. Vote Vancouver is running two Park Board candidates, Summit Wannamaker and me. We’re not running seven, and that is one of our key strengths.

The largest parties are running slates of seven or six, and others are running as a bloc. When one party controls the board, decisions get made in caucus before they reach the public table, and the board tends to move in step with whoever runs City Hall. In this term, the board spent much of its energy fighting for its own existence.

Two commissioners can not form a majority. Every motion we bring will need support from commissioners in other parties, so it will have to stand on evidence, not party loyalty. That is how a Park Board should work, and it is how it would work: transparent, cross-party, and accountable to residents rather than a single party.

It also makes your ballot simple. You get seven Park Board votes. You do not have to choose one team for all seven. Give some to the candidates you trust most from any party, and give two to Vote Vancouver whose only bloc is the public.

What I would bring to the table: For more than a decade I’ve served on non profit boards, including QMUNITY and Raincity housing in Vancouver, I have acted as treasurer and the Strategic planning board lead. I also was on the board of ‘The 519’ a city owned Community Center in Toronto, these experiences have provided me with extensive board governance experience and I bring a unique pairing of fiscal discipline, strategic planning and collaborative leadership. I have spent my career solving complex problems for large organizations. I have worked with start ups and enterprise organizations around the world focusing on improving the customer and user experience through solving problems and creating value. I believe this experience will be extremely valuable to help guide the Park Board to have a greater focus on the resident experience.

My priorities:

An independent Park Board focused on residents’ experience, in person and online. That covers how easy it is to book a field, get a drop in swim, report a hazard or hear back from the Board.

Capital investments the city can actually afford, planned honestly, funded properly and delivered.

Community spaces set up for current and future needs. Our parks, beaches and community centres have to work for the Vancouver that is coming.

I live in the Kitsilano neighborhood, and you will find my name first on the Park Board ballot. I’m asking for one of your seven votes.

Leonard VANDERSTAR (202) – Please check out our policy platform: https://parksparty.vote/ You will find out all about the Vancouver Independent Parks Party and our candidates.

Tamiko SUZUKI (206) – I am a new grandmother, a retired health care professional, an environmental activist, and a forest therapy guide. I love the parks, beaches, and forests that give Vancouver its beauty and make our city so special.

I’ve lived in Vancouver most of my life, raised a family here, and made lifelong use of our recreation facilities. I have a deep appreciation for our swimming pools, where I learned to swim, raced, and later taught others; our arenas for minor league hockey; and our soccer fields, gyms, dance rooms, and community centres. These places have been part of my life, and I’ve also seen what happens when they are neglected and starved of funding.

I am running with COPE because I care about our public commons—the parks, green spaces, beaches, and recreation facilities that belong to all of us. Vancouver is a world-class city in its natural beauty, yet many of our recreation facilities are shabby and in desperate need of repair or replacement. Staff are being cut, and the burden of keeping these places running is increasingly falling on parking and user fees. These costs disproportionately affect the people who need public recreation the most but can least afford it.

Our parks and recreation facilities are not luxuries. They are essential to our physical and mental health, our sense of community, and our resilience in the face of climate change. We need to protect and expand our green spaces, properly fund and renew our recreation facilities, and ensure that everyone—regardless of income, age, or background—can enjoy them.

Summit AMBEAULT-WANNAMAKER (210) – My experience as a wildland firefighter provides me with firsthand knowledge about the importance of our public institutions. I’ve experienced reactive leadership in situations where coordination, communication, and preparation were essential, and it has challenged me to become a leader who proactively works to address problems across the community.

I want to bring this experience to the Vancouver Park Board: We need to actively work towards a system that recognizes maintenance issues, funding deficits, and exogenous impacts before they become crises.

At Vote Vancouver, we are only pushing two candidates– and I think that differentiates us. Stephen Menon and I are committed to working with other Park Board Commissioners, not simply holding on to a majority to relieve ourselves of accountability.

Shayla BIRD (211) – I am an educator, public historian, small-business owner, community organizer, Strathcona resident and, most recently, a new mom.

My career has centred around young people, education, equity and creating spaces where people feel that they belong. I have worked with students and families, developed curriculum, led community engagement, organized events and spent years sharing the history of Vancouver’s Black community, particularly the history of Hogan’s Alley.

I am running for Park Board because I see parks and recreation as one of the most tangible ways local government affects our everyday lives. They are where children learn to swim, where young people find community through sport, where families gather, where seniors stay active, where cultures celebrate and where neighbours become neighbours.

I joined the Vancouver Liberals because their parks platform calls for an independent and properly supported Park Board alongside significant investment in parks, recreation facilities and pools.

If elected, I would bring the perspective of an educator, a community builder and a mother to the Park Board table, with a focus on young people, belonging, accessibility, community activation and ensuring that Vancouver’s parks and recreation system reflects the communities it exists to serve.

Cam ROTHERY (213) – We will order a review of the condition and safety of playgrounds and sports courts throughout the city, and we will stop any privatization of sports and recreation facilities at Vancouver Parks. This will include stopping the ‘pilot program’ that hands over the management of Kits Beach tennis courts to a private entity.

Tyler PETERSEN (214) - The Park Board relies on hardworking Commissioners, who show up for all Park Board meetings and events hosted by many communities; as liaisons attend community centre association meetings; meet with neighbourhood organizations, and committees representing marginalized voices. I have spent more than 4 years doing this work at the provincial level.

I am committed to this work, and we know that with an ambitious, collaborative, and more cooperative Park Board, we can start to build back our infrastructure and create parks, pools, and community centres that all of Vancouver can be proud of.

Sacia BURTON (215) – The Park Board is positioned to play a vital role in improving food access and security across the city, and this is an aspect of policy I would be proud to champion. Vancouver Food Justice Coalition has put forward five calls to action for the next Park Board – including simplification of garden licensing, revitalization of the fieldhouse program, stabilization of farmers’ market space use, assertion of Indigenous-rooted food uses in public space, and publication of an inventory of space available for food use. I hope to make progress on each of these asks during the upcoming term.

As a dog owner and an advocate for equitable access to space, I am also looking forward to improving access to off-leash spaces across the city, including dog-dense neighbourhoods like Mount Pleasant and Grandview-Woodlands. Walkable access to off-leash space is a matter of equity (for people with mobility challenges) and sustainability (by reducing reliance on cars to transport dogs to off-leash spaces).

Breanne SMART (216) – I live in East Van, where parks aren’t a luxury. They’re backyards, gathering places, and often the only green space people have. My work as a vegan chef, along with my background in science, operations, and hospitality, has taught me to listen, plan carefully, and deliver something that works for the people on the other side of the counter. I’ve also served on boards for several community organizations, so I understand the unglamorous side of public service: budgets and accountability. As a party, we are focused on the following:

Upgrading aging facilities so pools and community centres, are safe, accessible, and well maintained.
Protect greenspace from erosion by development.
Preserve the elected Park Board, so decisions about our parks and community centres stay locally accountable.
Advance equity and decolonization, in partnership with the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh Nations.

I’m running collectively with other candidates because I believe in shared leadership and a board that works as a team. I’m running under the Green Party banner because climate resilience, from tree canopy to heat response, belongs at the centre of how we manage parks.

John IRWIN (217) – The relationship between the Park Board and community centre associations has to be mutual and strong, and we need to recognize the volunteer effort that goes on to help to fund and run our community centres. I was a Park Board liaison with Mt. Pleasant, Kitsilano, Dunbar, and Kerrisdale Community Centres, and I built relationships based on respect and partnership (2018-2022). As liaison I never missed a CCA meeting and worked hard to keep them informed of any issues and took their questions and concerns back to staff. I also met or returned phone calls and emails from any Vancouver resident that contacted me.

Amanda BAINS (221) – I am a Punjabi Sikh woman, healthcare worker, small-business owner, strata council president and Gastown resident. I walk Vancouver’s parks and seawall daily with my three dogs, so parks are not an abstract policy area for me—they are part of my everyday life. Living downtown has allowed me to see both Vancouver’s extraordinary beauty and the consequences when basic services are neglected. I understand the importance of clean public washrooms, safe and welcoming parks, accessible recreation, off-leash spaces, strong community centres and frontline workers who have the resources to do their jobs.I am running with the Vancouver Liberals because I believe parks and recreation are essential civic infrastructure. I want an independent, accountable and properly funded Park Board that protects public land, rebuilds aging facilities and ensures every neighbourhood receives its fair share of investment.

Tom Digby (222) – Our full parks platform will be released by Oct 1 and will be found at www.vangreens.ca. Campaign planks are being released starting tomorrow.

Tricia BARKER (229) – I’m 68 years old and have worked with seniors and people with disabilities for the past 30 years. My goal is to be the voice for these two groups at the Park Board. During my previous time as a Commissioner (2018-22) I always worked and spoke up on their behalf. Empathy is key. Being a low-income senior with a disability, living in Vancouver, I have an understanding what people want, need and desire from the Park Board. But more important, I am willing to listen.

Michael Robert CADITZ (226) – We will extend the hours of VanDusen Botanical Garden and reduce parking fees for the Festival of Lights.

We will assess the condition of Trout Lake facilities and water and accelerate needed maintenance and water cleanup.

We will order a review of the condition and safety of playgrounds and sports courts throughout the city.

Dominic DENOFRIO (230) – In my day job, I spend my time advocating for my community in South Vancouver – advocating for better services for underserved parts of our city. I am hoping to bring this advocacy to the Park Board to deliver the needed new parks and community centres in growing parts of our city, the renewals to existing facilities, and to expand our city’s tree canopy. I am very proud to be part of the OneCity Vancouver team, and I look forward to working together with my fellow candidates for Park Board, School Board, and City Council to give Vancouverites a voice, a place, and a future in our city.

Niknaz ALEMI (231) – My background is in climate change, economics and community based work, and I think that shapes how I approach public policy. I believe strongly in evidence based, science backed decision making, but also in listening to the people who actually experience the impacts of those decisions. I care deeply about protecting Vancouver’s parks, trees and natural ecosystems, while making sure our public spaces remain accessible, inclusive and truly public.

More than anything, I believe we don’t always need another new plan. Vancouver has already invested a lot in research, public consultation and long term planning. I would like to see us use that work, be transparent about our decisions, and follow through on what the evidence and communities are telling us.

Wah GEE (233) – I’m a teacher, a community representative and someone who loves spending time in Vancouver’s parks and along the waterfront.

My background includes education and educational leadership. I coach, support school activities and serve on Vancouver’s Children, Youth and Families Advisory Committee.

Those experiences shape what I would bring to the Park Board: listening carefully, working with others and asking who might be missing out.

I’m running with TEAM because I support an independent, elected Park Board and investment in parks and recreation. My priorities are straightforward: programs people can afford, spaces where they feel welcome, and parks and facilities that are well cared for.