Former Liberal staffer to run for NPA in council byelection
Hector Bremner, an energy company lobbyist and former Liberal government staffer, has been selected to represent the NPA in the Oct. 14 Vancouver city council byelection.
Currently vice-president of public affairs for the media relations firm Pace Group, Bremner is a former B.C. Liberal candidate who worked in various roles in 2014 and 2015 for former deputy premier Rich Coleman.
“Many great candidates participated in the NPA nomination process. We thank them all for putting their names forward” said NPA President, Sarah Weddell. “The NPA believes in an open and transparent municipal government and this starts with our own party. The board of directors has worked hard over the last year to develop an open nomination process to attract the best and brightest candidates to our party and we are pleased that our members could participate in this process.”
“I look forward to a campaign where we can bring this important issue forward for our city. If I am elected on October 14 I will work with my fellow NPA colleagues to lead a meaningful dialogue with all Vancouverites to develop concrete solutions to our housing crisis,” Bremner said in a release.
Bremner was elected over fellow nominees Penny Noble and Glen Chernen.
Chernen filed a complaint with NPA executives on Tuesday to remove Bremner’s name from the ballot, claiming Bremner had violated B.C. lobbying laws in the past. Bremner denied the charge. The NPA also announced Fraser Ballantyne, Lisa Dominato, Robert McDowell, Jorge Julian Prieto and Christopher Richardson as its slate of candidate for seats on the currently vacant Vancouver school board.
Last October, then education minister Mike Bernier fired all nine elected Vancouver school board trustees for failing to pass a balanced budget and appointed former Delta School District superintendent Dianne Turner as the official trustee.
Ballantyne and Richardson, both former school board chairs, were among the nine trustees who were axed.
“My experience on school board and working in five secondary schools has given me insight into the issues and concerns of students, parents and teachers in Vancouver,” said Ballantyne, a retired teacher, counsellor and administrator.