FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 28, 2022
VANCOUVER — ABC Vancouver today announced its slate of Park Board candidates for the upcoming municipal elections: former tech executive Brennan Bastyovanszky, engineer Laura Christensen, educator Angela Haer, non-profit leader Marie-Claire Howard, VSB support worker and teacher Scott Jensen, and pharmacist Jas Virdi.
“I’m incredibly excited to welcome this team of experienced professionals,” said Sim. “Each member of the ABC Park Board slate brings a different set of skills that make them uniquely qualified to tackle the challenges facing Park Board today.”
Sim expressed support for his team’s qualifications and pledged that an ABC-led Park Board would bring new ideas and bold policy changes to Vancouver’s parks and recreation facilities.
“After four years of absent leadership, I’m confident in this team’s ability to fix the mess we currently see on Park Board,” continued Sim. “An ABC majority will make major investments to fix collapsing Park Board infrastructure and will expand allowed responsible consumption of alcohol to all parks with washrooms, and will launch a pilot to allow alcohol on beaches.”
Sim urged voters to elect a full ABC majority to Park Board in October’s election.
“We all want to live in a city that is home to fun, accessible, and well-maintained parks and recreation facilities,” concluded Sim. “The best way for Vancouver residents to be represented by a Park Board that shares that belief is by electing an ABC majority on October 15th.”
The Park Board candidates join eight other ABC candidates nominated for the 2022 municipal election: Ken Sim for Mayor, operations engineer Lenny Zhou, former journalist Peter Meiszner, former VPD spokesperson Brian Montague, non-profit executive Mike Klassen, and incumbent City Councillors Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, and Sarah Kirby-Yung for Council. Vancouver municipal elections will be held on October 15th, 2022.
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Media Contact:
Taylor Verrall
604-968-3067 | taylor@abcvancouver.ca
BACKGROUND
Brennan Bastyovanszky
Brennan is the founder of the Vancouver Rogues Gay and Inclusive Rugby Club. He is a former tech executive and holds an MBA from the University of New South Wales. He lives in the West End and is passionate about making parks and fields more accessible.
Laura Christensen
Laura is a Registered Professional Engineer. She has experience assessing, planning, and maintaining infrastructure. Laura lives with her husband in Grandview-Woodland and in her free time, trains assistance dogs and volunteers as a high school tutor.
Angela Haer
Angela works as an educator in Surrey, she holds a Masters Degree in Education from McGill. Angela is a successful entrepreneur, a mother of three, community volunteer, and is a longtime resident of Dunbar.
Marie-Claire Howard
Marie-Claire works as Vice President, Operations & Finance at Howard Employment Law. She also serves as the Board Chair for Alliance Française. Before moving to Vancouver, Howard was a journalist in her native France and in Toronto.
Scott Jensen
Scott has worked for the past fifteen years as a support worker and teacher with Vancouver School Board. He is the Vice Chair of Coaches with the British Columbia Lacrosse Association. Scott lives in Downtown Vancouver with his wife.
Jas Virdi
Jas has worked as a pharmacist for the last nine years and for the last six years, has owned his own pharmacy and medical clinic. Virdi is an athlete and has played Field Hockey for Team Canada.
For full biographies of all nominated ABC candidates, visit: abcvancouver.ca/abc-team