Now, it’s not that we want to turn VanRamblings into the official blog of the Vancouver Cedar Party — any more than we want to turn this blog into the official organ of the NPA, COPE, the Green Party, Vancouver First, TEAM, heaven forbid Vision Vancouver, the A Better City party, Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver, IDEA, the Work Less Party, or any one of the other municipal parties running in the 2014 Vancouver municipal election.
We do, however, appreciate that in the Vancouver Cedar Party, there’s a civic party that’s out there digging, doing research, not engaged in bitter internal warfare, that’s keeping its eyes focused on the goal (ousting Vision Vancouver come November 15th), and creating an effective (yet polite) narrative respecting our majority civic party at City Hall, Vision Vancouver.
The problem that the Vancouver Cedar Party has, though, is that the mainstream press pretty much doesn’t want to cover them.
That’s where VanRamblings comes in, we suppose. We like the consistency of the Cedar Party narrative — that Vision Vancouver is a secretive, non-consultative, arrogant and high-handed, overly-friendly-to-developers (at the expense of the livability of our city) municipal political party.
On Sunday evening, the Vancouver Cedar Party issued a press release with the headline, Communities Won’t Be Listened To When Developers are Managing City Hall from Inside (the edited text of which you’ll find below), pointing to a member of Vision Vancouver’s Board of Directors — a woman, a longtime ally of the Mayor, an individual who has an ownership position in Core Real Estate, who also maintains close ties to the Mayor’s svengali, Joel Solomon, Chairman of Renewal Partners, the millionaire philanthropist who, since 2008, has emerged as a major funder of Vision Vancouver.
That yawn you hear? Yes, that would be the mainstream media in town, and every member of the political class who has known for ages of the Mayor’s close ties to Hollyhock, the Tides Foundation, Renewal Partners, Joel Solomon, and Carol Newell, Rubbermaid heiress and founding principal of, surprise surprise, Renewal Partners. Yes, that’s right — it’s old news.
You know what they say, though — there’s no news like old news.
Well, maybe there’s no one that says that — but you know what, it never hurts to remind the Vancouver electorate, who seem to have such short memories, about Mayor Gregor Robertson’s ties to folks who, maybe, just maybe, have interests that may conflict with yours and mine, and the voting public across the 23 neighbourhoods that comprise Vancouver.
Without further ado, then, the latest Vancouver Cedar Party Press Release:
Communities Not Listened to When Developers Manage City Hall from Inside
Vision Vancouver: Developer on BoD, Another with Intimate Ties to Mayor
Illustration courtesy of CityHallWatch magazine —
“engaging citizens in decision-making”
The majority party at City Hall, Vision Vancouver, has a 30 year+ real estate development veteran on its Board of Directors, Martha Burton. Ms. Burton has a long and close working relationship with Mayor Gregor Robertson.
A native of Tennessee, Martha Burton joined the Solomon Development Company in 1982, becoming a partner in 1984. In addition to being a member of Vision Vancouver’s BoD, Ms. Burton states that her real estate expertise is available for hire in the real estate development process.
Martha Burton is an investor in many businesses including a real estate development firm, through her partnership position in Vancouver based investment firm, Renewal Partners.
This week, Metro’s Emily Jackson reported that a City of Vancouver Real Estate Department manager told her that the sales and demolition of the Granville bridge off-ramp and rebuilding / relocation of the Aquatic Centre arose resultant from unsolicited offers from foreign and local developers.
Who were the foreign or local developers that made unsolicited offers encouraging The City of Vancouver to put the Granville off-ramp for sale?
Who is making it a “High Priority” to move the Vancouver Aquatic Centre to the soon-to-be former Granville Street bridge off-ramp location?
Communities won’t be listened to with Vision developers in charge
Is Martha Burton one of the foreign developers that was involved in creating the secretive and sudden sale / demolition / relocation process for the Granville off-ramp / Aquatic Centre? Did she and Joel Solomon turn it into a “High Priority” from within Robertson’s Vision party or was it another foreign or local developer? Does it not appear the Mayor or his Chief of Staff have not been very open to the electorate with the fact that they were so close to, or receiving guidance from, two developers? Having an active developer advising the Mayor from within his Board is a serious problem.
Through investment firm Renewal Partners, Martha Burton has an ownership position in Core Real Estate, one of the most successful developers in Tennessee, along with Joel Solomon another 30 year+ plus Tennessee developer.
Along with several others, Joel Solomon and Martha Burton also have an ownership position in successful Tennessee real estate Brokerage firm Village Real Estate. Mr. Solomon apparently owns a larger position on his own, but together they own a partnership interest through their jointly owned investment firm, Renewal Partners.
Through Renewal Partners, Ms. Burton and Mr. Solomon have given the Mayor’s Vision Vancouver municipal party more cash donations than any other corporate entity.
Mayor Gregor Robertson’s Chief of Staff, Mike Magee, and Mayor Robertson have had a close working relationships with developers / investors, Martha Burton and Joel Solomon, for well over a decade. They all worked together for Mr. Solomon before they decided to help elect Mr. Robertson as Mayor of Vancouver, and appoint Mr. Magee as his Chief of Staff.
Martha Burton’s LinkedIn profile lists her profession as a real estate consultant with 30 years experience in real estate development, including detailed negotiations (Read her offerings under the experience subject). She is also an Executive Board member of Vision Vancouver, a position which typically acts in an advisory role to the Mayor. In addition to her Board position, Ms. Burton was also the party Treasurer until recently.
Communities will never be listened to when developers are in charge
Have any companies that Martha Burton or Joel Solomon have an investment interest in consulted for any developers in Vancouver that are subject to approvals or special consideration from their old co-workers, Gregor Robertson and Mike Magee?
Too often plans such as the Granville Bridge off-ramp sale are discovered at a more advanced stage when the community has too little time to organize and raise their voice. Not this time.
We are finding out before a development application has even been produced. However, that is not good enough. Somebody thought they could set the dominoes falling (in secret) with the sale of these lands. We found out about their plans.
Secretive City of Vancouver real estate transactions must stop.
Residents need to be listened to for a change. The needs of our community must come before the mad desires of real estate developers.
Written and researched by Glen Chernen, and a village of volunteers.
