June 11, 2022
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver has selected a diverse, highly experienced slate of six candidates to run for City Council in the October 15 civic election.
“Every one of these talented people has an extensive background that will be valuable in helping reset our city,” said Councillor Colleen Hardwick, who is TEAM’s mayoral candidate. “Their intelligence, skills and passion will help move us toward the neighbourhood-friendly, affordable and vibrant city we all want to live in.
“I look forward to working with all of them.”
Although there are ten Council seats up for grabs, TEAM has chosen to run candidates for only six. If the entire slate is selected, the party will have a majority that will enable it to carry out its policies.
The candidates are:
Cleta Brown, a first-generation Vancouverite with a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics, has worked as an investigator and general counsel for the Ombudsman of BC, as a Crown prosecutor in the Provincial Courts and on the Review Board of BC. A lifelong volunteer, she’s worked with women and their children fleeing domestic violence, and has served on many boards, including those of MOSAIC, YWCA, the University Women’s Club, and LEAF. Her concerns about the erosion of Vancouver’s livability and affordability prompted her to run for Council for the Green Party in 2014. This time, she’s running for TEAM because she feels the city’s incredible potential is still within reach “if we act boldly with democratic principles, intelligence, pragmatism and understanding.”
Sean Nardi, is a long-time Fairview resident with a background in information technology in the financial services industry, as well as a BComm, a PMP and an MBA. Sean and his partner of 14 years, Ian Poole, are family guys who prioritize time with family, friends, and neighbours; they value integrity, hard work and community. Sean’s involvement in civic issues began in 2018 when he joined the Fairview/South Granville Action Committee, which brought him into contact with Colleen Hardwick and many neighbourhood groups. His extensive research, organizing, and communication during several rezonings and City initiatives convinced him of the need to refocus on transparency, accountability, core services, neighbourhoods, democracy, livability, affordability, and sustainability.
Param Nijjar is an entrepreneur at heart, a software engineer by education and a project manager by experience. He studied engineering at UBC after coming to Vancouver from India, and launched his first business in his 20s. Since then, he has created a boutique building company specializing in laneway homes and green technology. He believes his deep understanding of how the housing industry works will be useful in dealing with the many issues surrounding Vancouver’s housing crisis. He’s also a lifelong volunteer, a supporter of the local creative industry, and a strong environmentalist.
Grace Quan’s lengthy resume includes corporate governance, negotiation, leadership, team-building and marketing. As president and CEO, Grace co-founded and led Hydrogen In Motion Inc. to develop a nanomaterial to store hydrogen in high density tanks. Before that, she spent 10 years with the federal government working in foreign aid at the Canadian International Development Agency and in the Foreign Service. She also served as senior advisor to the CFO of the Treasury Board of Canada. Grace says she’s running for TEAM because Colleen Hardwick is the only person who has shown clarity on what tangible action needs to be taken to make Vancouver livable and affordable.
Stephen Roberts was born and raised in BC, and studied economics and politics at university. He spent much of his professional career overseas as a COO with international investment banks in Hong Kong, New York, and London. Since returning home to Vancouver, he has been active in a number of community non-profit organizations, most notably as chair of the board for five years at Vancouver Hospice Society (VHS). It was at the VHS, leading a grassroots fight to protect the hospice from a damaging rezoning proposal, that Stephen had his first serious encounter with City Hall. The experience prompted him to join TEAM’s campaign to return governance of Vancouver to the service of its residents.
Bill Tieleman is one of BC’s best-known political strategists, running his consulting firm – West Star Communications – since 1998. He played lead roles in winning four BC binding referenda – three against proportional representation and one against the Harmonized Sales Tax. He served as communications director to then-BC NDP Premier Glen Clark in his upset 1996 election victory, as well as to the BC Federation of Labour. He provides advice to labour, business, Indigenous, environmental, governmental and not-for-profit organizations. He’s running for TEAM because he says it’s the only party that doesn’t want enormous towers all over the city, and prioritizes affordable housing, public safety, city services and livability.
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