I am seeking the position of Party Chair because we need a strong, effective Green Party to support Jane Sterk as our new leader in her efforts to implement real solutions to the issues facing British Columbia. A strong, renewed Green Party will hold the NDP and BC Liberals to account.
I have the management experience, professional skills and time to take on the volunteer position of Party Chair. During my years volunteering for the party as candidate, campaign manager, and on Provincial Council, the number of green voters has increased significantly and will only continue to grow.
As Party Chair, I am prepared to volunteer up to 15 hours per week. This effort is about ensuring that your children and grandchildren, my nieces and nephews, are able to have the quality of life that we have been so fortunate to enjoy.
Skills and Relevant Volunteer Experience within the Green Party:
As Chair of the Provincial Council of the Green Party of British Columbia, I would bring to the position the rational, pragmatic, common-sense approach that I have honed through 20 years of BC public service & consulting work since then. I have the professional skills to build and coordinate a strong team of individuals in order to move our Party and discussion / resolution of green issues forward. Following is an overview of my involvement with the Green Party at the municipal, provincial and federal levels since 1999, as well as with Adriane Carr's Proportional Representation Initiative:
• November 1999 – Green Party Victoria municipal councilor candidate – placed 10th missing a seat of Victoria City Council by 180 votes
• 2000 – worked for Green Party of Canada federal leader Joan Russow in federal election
• May 2001 – Victoria-Beacon Hill provincial election candidate – placed third with 21.7% of the vote & third highest number of green votes provincially
• Summer 2002 – coordinated ProRep campaign in several southern Vancouver Island constituencies & achieved required number of signatures
• 2003-2005 – GPBC Provincial Fund-Raising Chair, including coordination of membership renewal function
• June 2004 – co-managed Ariel Lade's Green Party of Canada campaign in Victoria – Ariel placed third across Canada in terms of green votes received
• June 2004 – supported Andrew Lewis' Green Party of Canada campaign in Saanich – Gulf Islands by coordinating pre-election delivery of door hangers to 8000+ households – Andrew placed first across Canada in green votes received
• Fall 2004 – coordinated drafting, review and endorsement by Victoria-Beacon Hill Constituency Association and other reviewers of more than ten policy resolutions on affordable housing, social justice, harm reduction, and education issues for submission to the GPBC AGM, many of which passed the AGM with consensus of members voting
• October 2004 – volunteered on Adriane Carr's campaign in the Surrey-Panorama Ridge by-election
• 2004-2005 – temporarily GPBC Provincial Organizing Chair, overlapping with Fundraising Chair and membership renewal
• 2005 – GPBC Provincial Campaign Manager leading up to and following May 2005 provincial election
• 2001-2005 – generally supported GPBC Leader Adriane Carr on a number of different initiatives
• 2002-ongoing – Victoria-Beacon Hill CA Fund-Raising Chair
• 2006-ongoing – Victoria-Beacon Hill CA Financial Agent
Why I support the Green Party of British Columbia:
I support the Green Party because it consistently tells voters the truth on the full range of economic, social, and ecological issues. Like you and me, most members are fiscally responsible, socially progressive, and environmentally aware.
The Green Party is the only party that acknowledges that there are limits to growth, and that we cannot continue to live beyond our ecological and economic means. It proposes solutions to move us beyond dependence upon resource extraction, towards long-term economic stability. Our platform on environmental issues ranges from phasing out the unsustainable practices of clear-cut logging and export of raw logs, to moving fish farms to land-based operations, to accelerating measures to reverse climate change.
The Green Party understands that good health requires clean air and water, and nutritious food. It promotes increased emphasis on wellness, physical activity and prevention of disease, rather than focusing all of our resources on managing illness and injury. And for youth to succeed in life and maximize their potential contributions to society and the economy there must be adequate funding for education at all levels.
The Green Party knows that addressing housing affordability and homelessness is the first step to eliminating poverty, and that there needs to be increased supports for individuals and families at risk.
Please contact me by email at: votegreen@islandnet.com