A former Vision Vancouver board member and the director of SFU’s Centre for Dialogue is now eyeing to become the mayor of Vancouver.
Shauna Sylvester announced her candidacy Thursday, and will be running as an independent in the upcoming municipal election.
Sylvester says she’s focused on rebuilding the city of Vancouver into a place where people of all incomes can flourish.
“We need everybody here. It’s not a place just for the rich or a place to park their money,” said Sylvester.
Sylvester shares long ties with Vision Vancouver, which on Wednesday announced it may not be running a candidate in the Octelection on Oct. 20.
Her history includes serving two years as a board member with Vision Vancouver and founding “Women in Vision,” a posse of female supporters for the party.
Her involvement in the political party allowed her to assist with public consultations on affordable housing in 2012.
Vision Vancouver has seen its popularity wane since coming to power in 2008, with Mayor Gregor Robertson getting ranked as one of the least popular big city mayors in all of Canada last year.
Still, Slyvester said she is not worried about her involvement with Vision coming back to haunt her.
“I think a majority of citizens don’t really channel their energies through political parties,” said Sylvester, who adds “I’m not denying my Vision background. I have not been involved with Vision for a number of years, but there are certainly things that Vision has done that I respect.”
Apart from her involvement with the party, she spent several years serving as a board member for the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association, working as an executive director for SFU’s Public Square, and founding an organization called Renewable Cities, which helps communities transition to sustainable energy sources.
If elected she would become the first female mayor of Vancouver.
