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The new mayor of Vancouver, Kennedy Stewart, said that he did not plan to "be a bull in a porcelain store" and a clean house with a large turnover of staff among the city's executives. Other, past and present Vancouver City Hall, agree that it is a good idea.
The last time Vancouver experienced a diet change a decade ago, it was followed by a major reorganization of city staff. But voices from the past, present and future of Vancouver City Hall agree that they do not want this to happen this time: a new mayor and an almost new council should be sworn in next month.
In the first year after Vision Vancouver came to power in 2008, several of the City's senior executives resigned or were fired. The biggest story was the decision made by then Mayor Gregor Robertson and his majority council Vision, three days after taking office in 2008, to dismiss former City Manager Judy Rogers, which cost to the city more than $ 571,788 in severance benefits.
At that time, Rogers told Vancouver-based journalist Jeff Lee that she respected the new council's decision to fire her, but pleaded for her professional colleagues to keep their jobs.
Rogers' sudden shooting in 2008 stunned several observers, including former Vancouver mayor Philip Owen of the Non-Partisan Association, who told the Sun when he suspected the new Vision government. "to want to do a lot of housework". but would do it "at their own risk."
At the time, Robertson said it was not his intention to clean up.
Those at City Hall at the time remember that Rogers' sudden departure had been followed by the departure of several other senior executives who had resigned or had been fired.
Suzanne Anton was NPA City Councilor from 2005 to 2011, before and after Vision's takeover. Wednesday, Anton recalled that he had the impression that the city was losing its institutional knowledge and its experienced and valuable staff. It was a time of upheaval, she says, and morale was low.
"There was certainly a very strong impression at the time that the staff was not happy with any changes made," Anton said. "And certainly, many of them have shown their dissatisfaction by crossing the door."
The new mayor elected from Vancouver, Kennedy Stewart, would be well advised not to follow this path, said Anton.
For his part, Stewart said he did not want to clean up, just to clean the house. "You do not want to make things unstable for no reason, and too much change can be very stressful for people. I'm the kind of person who listens and talks to people to get their ideas and evaluate them before doing anything, "he said after his victory.
Although Stewart did not rule out the possibility of personnel changes, he said, "I want to see what's going on, I'm not going to be a bull in a china shop, that's for sure."
"There are a lot of staff out there who have so much valuable information," Stewart said. "There is also a lot of expertise."
Some of the city's best employees have only been here for the past two years, including chief planner Gil Kelley, general development director Kaye Krishna and general manager Sandra Singh. The current administrator, Sadhu Johnston, seems to have the support of all parties. When Johnston took office in 2016, the press release announcing his hiring included complimentary quotes from all three parties on the board.
Kevin Quinlan, Mayor Robertson's Chief of Staff, is part of City Hall facilities who knows his days are numbered at 12 and Cambie.
Chief of Staff Kevin Quinlan, for former Mayor Gregor Robertson
Gerry Kahrmann /
PNG
Quinlan is one of the few politicians in the mayor's office, whose contracts are aligned with the mayor's term, meaning they will be finished by the end of next week.
"That's the problem when you sign up to work for the mayor," said Quinlan. "When he came out, you also went out."
Quinlan, 35, spent nearly a third of his life working in the mayor's office. After Robertson's first victory, Quinlan was his executive badistant, then his director of communications and policy, then his badistant chief of staff, before finally becoming chief of staff in 2016.
On Wednesday – the 3067th working day for the Mayor's Office – Quinlan was packing and preparing to help with the transition of the new mayor.
Quinlan said he could not speculate on what the next mayor could do about hiring and firing, but he thinks Stewart would be wise not to move things too much.
"There is a tremendous amount of talent and expertise within the municipal bureaucracy, and I think it is very well placed to help implement the (Stewart's) program and the agenda for the next council. So I do not anticipate a big change, "said Quinlan.
"Certainly, when we arrived 10 years ago, the situation was very different," said Quinlan. At that time, in 2008, the city was struggling with the Olympic Village's financial boondoggle, Quinlan recalled, as well as the implications of the global financial crisis and the previous year's civic strike.
In comparison, said Quinlan, the city is well positioned now, with a lot new rental housing is coming to an end, funding is in place for a major transit infrastructure project and a strong economy.
"I think it's really exciting, that the next mayor and council can really benefit from a lot of these gains. There is a very good starting point there, "Quinlan before adding: "It's not that I'm biased."
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