As a West End resident, from the moment I wake up in the morning I am aware of what a beautiful city we live in. As a stay home dad with two young daughters I have relied on our parks system to teach them about community, recreation, and sustainability. Seeing them grow up around these incredible services is why I am running to be a park board commissioner. I care about the preservation of public lands and want to encourage the sustainable use of our facilities for generations to come.

For the past three years I have been working closely with commissioner Loretta Woodcock and with the COPE board caucus, reading staff reports, attending board meetings, and attending committee meetings. As the chair of the COPE park board caucus, I’m particularly proud of our team and what we’ve been able to accomplish. We organized public forums, produced videos, hosted bird walks in Queen Elizabeth Park, and guided nature walks in Stanley Park. We have also met with many individuals and groups to listen and discuss concerns and issues. Most importantly, together our caucus has raised awareness of the park board and how it can make a change for the better in our communities.

Vancouver is blessed with an extraordinary number of community centres, parks, fitness centres, pools, and recreational services. We need to ensure that these services are affordable and accessible to parents, seniors, and lower income people across the city. This is a challenge that COPE has fought for over its 40-year history of being the progressive voice of Vancouver.

One issue that we can all relate to is the lack of public washroom facilities. Public washrooms are an important community amenity that supports tourism, business, residents, and our seniors and homeless. This program needs to be set as a priority and I will work to bring it to the forefront of the agenda.

Vancouver is also a city with a rich diversity of communities, linguistically, culturally, ethnically, racially, and generational. Intercultural and intergenerational understanding needs to be deeply embedded and promoted in our consultative and planning process. Communities need to know consultation is authentic and meaningful and that a sincere dialogue is at the start of the decision making process. Vancouver can count on me listen to and to be respectful.

My years of experiences as a husband, father, community activist, and organizer have taught me that action speaks volumes. Making progress on sustainability issues takes a personal commitment to action. For Vancouver to mitigate the effects of climate change we are going to have to arrive on an agreed-to plan of action. I will work passionately and persistently to build the solutions that will allow Vancouver to have sustainable transportation, a sustainable local food network, and communities that embrace everyone. I fully support the Greenest City Action Plan that will change operations in order to mitigate the effects of climate change.

As your park board commissioner I will work with every community to dialogue about the issues that are important to you. You can count on me to listen and to be respectful of your concerns and to work with you to build solutions to affect change and together we will build a Vancouver for everyone.

Brent Granby is a Coalition of Progressive Electors candidate for park board in the November 19 Vancouver municipal election. Granby, the former president of the West End Residents Association, is a member at large of the COPE executive and chair of the COPE park board caucus. He is a volunteer community organizer and a director with WERA. Granby, his wife Anita, and their daughters Safrin and Mallika are long-time residents of the West End.