Because I’m such a dedicated civic affairs scribe, I tend to show up to every Vancouver Police Board meeting.
Sometimes, I’m the only media type there.
Which was the case last Thursday night when I took a seat in the boardroom on the seventh floor at the Cambie Street police headquarters.
Immediately, I knew something wasn’t right.
Well, yes, first of all it was an evening meeting, which is something the board is trying out to get more people to show up; didn’t see a noticeable increase in attendance or any new faces, so not sure it worked.
Secondly, and more importantly, where was police board member Wade Grant? Or police board member Donna Bridgeman?
Apparently, they resigned.
Grant got a new job and Bridgeman had personal matters to deal with, according to the board’s executive director Patti Marfleet.
So doing the math, the seven-person board was down two. Then before I could finish that calculation, Mayor Gregor Robertson, who doubles as chairperson of the board, announced Thursday it was board member Sheryl Williamson’s last meeting; her six-year term was up.
Down three people on a seven-person board didn’t seem so good for governance. Then I found out the provincial government recently allowed Vancouver to increase the size of its board to nine members.
Holy math headache!
So that really meant the nine-person board was down five members, which seemed even worse for good governance. But after the meeting, I was assured by the mayor and Marfleet that more members were on their way.
In fact, the mayor told me city council appointed former Vision Vancouver co-chairperson Carolyn Askew. The city gets one appointment to the board while the provincial government decides on the rest of the appointees.
Since the meeting, I’ve learned the provincial government appointed Claire Marshall. Marshall is the former manager of aboriginal relations for the B.C. Transmission Corporation and is a director with the Lu’ma Native Housing Society.
So that leaves three vacancies.
The board requested more members because it says it has a heavy workload. The board oversees the VPD’s budget, sets policy, hears service and policy complaints and is responsible for hiring the chief and evaluating his performance.
“We need those positions filled by the province ASAP,” the mayor told me after the meeting. “We’re hopeful we get new board members for the next meeting and back up to full strength, with an additional two members.”
The next meeting is July 24.
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Just a note to recognize the city’s former longtime homeless advocate Judy Graves, who was given the Freedom of the City award Monday night at the first-ever Vancouver Awards of Excellence.
The award is the city’s highest honour and was also bestowed upon business tycoon Jim Pattison, who apparently provided some key advice to Mayor Gregor Robertson in handling the Olympic Village mess.
“In each case, Vancouver would not be all that it is today without their tireless endeavours to build a stronger city,” Robertson said in a statement released after the ceremony at The Vancouver Playhouse.
Graves and Pattison receive a decal that permits free parking at meters, they get their names inscribed in the Book of Freedoms and are entitled to be called … Freeman of the City of Vancouver.
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