Vancouver, British Columbia – Andrea Reimer and Kerry Jang will be taking to the streets today to recruit transit users to put their names forward as TransLink directors. Reimer and Jang, both seeking Vision Vancouver’s nomination for city council, were responding to a recent call from TransLink for applications to fill three openings on the TransLink board.
Late last year, elected representatives were dismissed from the TransLink board by the provincial government and replaced by a body screened by provincial appointees, the Board of Trade, and the Chartered Accountants of BC and only then approved by regional mayors.
“It was a travesty to lose a board of democratically elected officials. This is a time when we need to make very good transportation decisions to both reduce climate-changing emissions and to deal with the dearth of service that leaves many people with few options in our region. Peter Ladner and the NPA were virtually silent when the province stole the local autonomy we need to make locally appropriate decisions,” said Reimer.
“It just came to our attention that there are three vacancies on the TransLink board. These openings have been advertised in a very limited, almost secretive way, leaving little time for actual transit users to consider applying for the position. We feel that one way to mitigate the negatives of having an appointed board is to ensure transit users get the three TransLink vacancies” said Jang.
Reimer pointed out the importance of having actual transit users on the Board. “The recent TransLink board suggestion that, in response to budget constraints, roads keep getting built but bus service gets halved is exactly the kind of problem of having no one on the TransLink board that depends on transit for daily transportation,” said Reimer.
“We call on Mayor Sullivan, Peter Lander and the NPA to support our call for the three vacancies to be filled by people who depend on transit,” said Jang. “Busses are already crowded to over-flowing in the north of the city and people in south Vancouver simply have no options. We also ask Mayor Sullivan to oppose the appointments coming into effect on November 1, two weeks before a civic election that could dramatically change the mayor’s council”.
Jang was referring to a provincial requirement that the new directors be appointed on November 1, 2008. The term of the appointees will run from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2011.
Jang and Reimer will be at Commercial and Broadway at 5:00 pm to talk to rush hour commuters and seek candidates for the TransLink vacancies
For more information please contact:
Andrea Reimer, 604-719-3920, www.andreareimer.ca
Kerry Jang, 778 229 6569, www.kerryjang.ca
