Why I’m Running - Christine Boyle, OneCity

This feels like a critical moment in Vancouver. This place we love is becoming more and more of a shiny, empty place. So I’ve made a decision to seek the OneCity Vancouver nomination to run for City Council this Fall.

I have been involved with OneCity since the beginning, and am so proud of the organization’s thoughtfulness, its diversity, its bold policies, and its supportive and respectful culture.

As many of you know, this isn’t a decision I’ve made casually. I love the dynamic and lively church congregation I’m serving, and the national climate justice work I’ve been doing. But I’ve also always been passionate about local government, and particularly about this city I was born and raised in. This OneCity op-ed says it well: “A city designed only for the rich is a city that’s lost its soul.”

To be honest, I’m nervous about running, I’m nervous about the toxic tone of politics online and off-line these days, and I’m nervous about making mistakes and letting people down. But I’m also passionate about tackling the deepening wealth gap here, about ensuring that homes are for housing people rather than profits, and about deepening community engagement and community-level planning to build a better city together.

With a strong progressive City Council, with the contributions of community groups, social movements and working people, and with a provincial government that appears willing to work with the city, together we can change the direction Vancouver is headed, and make it a city where people can live and belong for generations to come.

I certainly can’t do it on my own. I’d love your support in getting the OneCity nomination. And then the whole OneCity team will need your help leading up to October 20th, to elect a progressive Council and School Board. And after that it will take all of our voices, inside and outside City Hall, to bring about the inclusive, vibrant and affordable city we believe is possible. A Vancouver for everyone.

Thank you.

Photo: Christine and Seth and the kids. Header Image: CUPE & The Leap Rally at Jack Pool Plaza, 2015