Today is the first day of the rest of the lives of overwhelmingly popular Mayor-elect Ken Sim, his new Councillor-elects, ABC (A Better City) Vancouver’s Brian Montague, Mike Klassen, Peter Meiszner, and Lenny Zhou, and former and oh-so-triumphant and returning Vancouver City Councillors, ABC’s lovingly re-elected City Councillors, Sarah Kirby-Yung — who topped the polls, yay, Sarah! — the ever-so-outstanding Lisa Dominato and Rebecca Bligh, the wonderfully humane Green Party of Vancouver’s Adriane Carr and Pete Fry, and OneCity Vancouver’s ‘hope of the left’ Christine Boyle, all eleven of whom will be sworn into office at 1:15pm on this, what is supposed to be, sunny Monday afternoon, where there will be glad tidings within the luxuriously comfortable and City-owned Orpheum Theatre.
Monday afternoon’s festivities are an ‘invite only’ affair. Although OneCity Vancouver Councillor Christine Boyle posted two charitable invitations to us, we opted to accept Councillor-elect Mike Klassen’s kind invitation — we have been friends for, I believe, 29 years this year, was present at his wedding, and for the birth of his daughter, helped Michael (we call him Michael) collect his election signs the day after the 2011 Vancouver municipal election when he came so achingly close to being elected to Vancouver City Council that year … so, it seems fitting that VanRamblings would be present — along with his wife Stacey, and Michael’s entire family — for this most august of occasions in Mike Klassen’s life.
The link to the live stream of the City of Vancouver Councillor Inauguration Ceremony will be available at …
https://vancouver.ca/your-
or on the City of Vancouver Facebook page … City of Vancouver Facebook page
Vancouver citizens are invited to the Vancouver Park Board’s Inaugural Ceremony, where the seven newly-elected Park Board Commissioners will take the oath of office. This event — unlike regular Park Board meetings — will not be live streamed, so if you want to see Vancouver’s Park Board Commissioners be sworn into office, you’ll have to attend at …
Date: Monday, November 7, 2022
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: VanDusen Botanical Garden
5251 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC V6M 4H1
The full meeting agenda is available at: https://parkboardmeetings.
There’s a 30-70 chance that VanRamblings will attend the Park Board Inaugural, because we love the Van Dusen Botanical Gardens, we love Vancouver’s Board of Parks and Recreation, it’s probable that there’ll be a surfeit of past Park Board Commissioners on hand (and, you guessed it, we love our past Park Board Commissioners) — and we expect the event will be drama free … although in these times of disapprobation, you never know what protesters might have in mind to disrupt this otherwise celebratory event, in this most inviting of settings.
Against our better judgement, VanRamblings will attend tonight’s Vancouver Board of Education Inaugural, which will be held in the School Board’s regular meeting Board Room. Mostly, we’ll be attending this (could be, sadly, contentious) Inaugural to support our friend, re-elected trustee Christopher Richardson — let us say it again, the finest man we know — a former Vancouver School Board Chairperson, and someone we think will well serve the interests of children enrolled in the Vancouver school district — particularly those children with learning difficulties — with honour, unswerving dedication and unparalleled distinction.
Of course, VanRamblings will be delighted to see past Vancouver Board of Education Chairperson, Dr. Janet Fraser — who, as we’ve written previously, as Chairperson always conducts a clinic on how to run a meeting fairly and judiciously — and her Green Party of Vancouver trustee colleague, Lois Chan-Pedley, as well as OneCity Vancouver’s Jennifer Reddy, and her new best friend, COPE’s Suzie Mah, the latter of whom we’re looking forward to seeing being sworn in, and sharing some cake and a (non-alcoholic) beverage with afterwards, in the cafeteria.
Of course, VanRamblings will invite Christopher over to share the celebration with us — after all, Ms. Mah and Mr. Richardson will be professional colleagues for the next four years, and getting together around food often proves propitious, indeed.
Date: Monday, November 7, 2022
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Vancouver School Board offices
1580 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC V6J 5K8
It would seem that VanRamblings has returned to publishing. We have a great deal to say, to write and record in the coming days and weeks. See you back here soon!