The Election has Begun!

The UNA election has formally begun with the posting on the UNA web page of the names and bios of the four candidates running for the three open positions.

Look for me and fellow OUR Team candidates, Shoahung Wu and Richard Alexander, in your neighbourhoods.  We will be working to meet each of you during this campaing.

Making sure that we have real and effective local government is our mandate!

Time for Change: Vote Charles!

Our community is changing rapidly.  It’s time for real, effective, local government.  I’m running with members of OUR (http://ourUtown.com) Richard Alexander and Shaohung Wu because we believe that together we can make the UNA more effective as our local government.  You can read more about me on my election blog votemenzies.ca.  Find me on twitter @charlesmenzies

I’ve lived in the university town since 1996 with my family. Over this time I have been consistent in advocating for community-based democracy.

As the former chair of the Schools Action Committee of the UNA I advocated on behalf of our community for appropriate school and community facilities. Finally we can see progress on this front as the new high school at 16^th and East Mall nears completion and the new middle school and elementary schools are now well underway. 

Prior to the UNA I was part of a group of early Hawthorn Place residents who created the Hawthorn Lane Resident's Association.  There was a real need for community representation and we took the initiative to ensure that resident voices could be heard by UBC and UBCPT.

As a parent of two children who were in the Vancouver school system I participated, as a classroom volunteer, a Parent Advisory Council member, a School Planning Council member, and also as an elected member of Vancouver's District Parent Advisory Council for six years.

I have effectively managed extensive public volunteer activities while being a full time professor at UBC. My research interests focus upon matters of economic development and natural resource policy. 

I consider participation in the life of our community town to be both a privilege and a responsibility.  I look forward to serving as a member of your elected UNA as we build a more effective local government in our town.