Our Contributors

David Allison is the President of Braun/Allison Inc., a branding and creative services firm that specializes in real estate development projects. Follow him on twitter @BAdavid. For the record, his company is not employed by any of the groups mentioned in this blog.

Tsur Somerville is associate professor at the Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia, director of the UBC Centre for Urban Economics and Real Estate and holds the Real Estate Foundation of BC Professorship in Real Estate Finance. Thomas Davidoff is assistant professor at the Sauder School of Business at UBC.

Starting as an activist with youth soccer, Suzanne Anton advocated for neighbourhood facilities and programs to help children onto the playing fields of the city. With that platform she was elected to the Vancouver Park Board in 2002, then elected to Vancouver City Council in both 2005 and 2008. She's a passionate advocate for smart land use planning and economic development in Metro Vancouver. Suzanne is a weekly political commentator on the CBC Radio One Early Edition program.

I have been an owner of two successful Trucking Businesses from 1979–1991; employing over 65 Teamster Drivers. From 1991–2008 I was the Division Terminal Manager at Overland Freight Lines, New Westminster, West Arm Truck Lines and Glencoe Transport. In 2008 I retired from Trucking and established the Village Coffee Lounge on 12th Street, New Westminster.

Former Vancouver Social Planner; Vancouver Alderman, School Trustee; Trustee Vancouver Contemporary Art Gallery; Trustee Granville Island Trust; trustee Vancouver Academy of Music; Trustee Vancouver Community College.

Jordan Bateman's comment is courtesy of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation, of which Jordan is the B.C. Director. He previously served for six years as an elected Township Councillor in Langley, BC, a community of 100,000 people. His work with the Township included serving on the community's Economic Development Commission, Tourism Langley and the Fraser Valley Regional Library Board. Jordan's blog, Langley Politics, was read throughout BC, and was a key part of his commitment to transparency and accountability. After winning two elections, including topping the polls in 2008, Jordan resigned from Council in 2011 to take on his role with the CTF.

Robert Chester is an architect and council member of the Architectural Institute of BC, and a former employee of the City of Vancouver Planning Department. Opinions are his own and not meant to represent the views of the Institute.

Daniel Fontaine is a co-founder of CityCaucus. He's is the former Chief of Staff to Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan and has been involved in politics and political strategy at the municipal, provincial and federal level for most of his adult life. He writes a weekly civic affairs colum for 24 Hours Vancouver and was a political commentator for the civic affairs panel on the top-rated Bill Good Show on CKNW AM980 radio in Vancouver. Fontaine has also appeared on CBC radio in Vancouver and made several appearances in local and national media such as GlobalTV, CBC News Network and contributed to the Vancouver Sun opinion page. He hails from St. Boniface, MB, and lives in New Westminster, BC with his wife and son.

Michael Geller is a Vancouver-based architect, planner, real estate consultant and property developer with four decades’ experience in the public, private and institutional sectors, and President of the Geller Group. He is a fixture in Metro Vancouver media on these topics, and is a weekly civic affairs panelist for CKNW's Bill Good Show.

Most recently Carol served 2 terms on Vancouver School Board and also served on the Council for the BC College of Teachers, now the Teacher Regulation Branch. She is an analyst, a former administrator with responsibility for department in student services at UBC and a former kindergarten teacher. She is a life-long learner, passionate about education and professional self regulation. She recently completed the Institute of Corporate Directors (ICD) program for not-for-profit organisations and is a member of ICD.

Colin Hansen is the MLA for Vancouver-Quilchena who has served as Deputy Premier, Minister of Finance, Minister of Health and the Minister for Economic Development and Minister responsible for the Asia-Pacific Initiative and the Olympics. He was first elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in 1996, and was reelected in the general elections of 2001, 2005, and 2009. He currently serves on the Treasury Board and the Select Standing Committee on Health. Before his election to the legislature, Colin served as vice-president of finance and administration for the Asia-Pacific Foundation of Canada.

Randy Helten is a freelance translator on environment and sustainability. He is coordinator of CityHallWatch.ca and MetroVanWatch.ca, director of West End Neighbours, former mayoral candidate with Neighbourhoods for a Sustainable Vancouver, and steering committee member of West End Neighbourhood Food Network.

John Hempton is the Chief Investment Officer with Bronte Capital. He has extensive experience in global markets with Platinum Asset Management - an Australian based global fund manager. John was the chief analyst for financial stocks globally and a partner in the business. He lives and works in Bronte, New South Wales, Australia. His Bronte Capital blog is at http://brontecapital.blogspot.ca/.

Paul Hillsdon is a 20-something urban policy wonk who first ran for public office at the age of 18. Paul has written extensively on transportation and urban development, education, social justice, and the role of government. When not blogging, he's either studying at SFU or roaming the Twittersphere.

Philip Hochstein is executive director of the Independent Contractors and Businesses Association of B.C. Previously, he managed membership services for the Mechanical Contractors Association of B.C.

Sandeep Johal is a proud resident of Mount Pleasant. She is an educator and an artist.

Patrick Johnstone is a New Westminster resident and local rabble-rouser. An Environmental Geoscientist by training, an Environmental Coordinator for work, and the Past President of the New Westminster Environmental Partners for the fun of it. He also blogs at NWimby.blogspot.ca, where he spends equal time criticizing and praising the City he calls home.

A resident of Vancouver, Laura Jones is the Sr. Vice-President Research, Economics & Western Canada with CFIB. In this capacity she works with all levels of government to represent the interests of CFIB's small business members in British Columbia.

Mike Klassen is a co-founder and editor of City Caucus. He's a husband, father, urbanist, community leader and communications specialist. His passions are city-making & community building, as well as politics. Mike has over 20 years of political campaign experience. He was political columnist at 24 Hours Vancouver newspaper, and a frequently cited commentator on talk radio and local TV newscasts. Mike was formerly Vice-Chair of the DOXA documentary festival board. Mike also served as Vice-Chair of the respected Vancouver City Planning Commission (2007 – 2009). Mike and his wife are avid B.C. wine boosters with a passion for wine travel.

Former police officer, security expert and media commentator. Law & Order columnist Wednesdays in 24 Hours Vancouver.

Tim Louis is a practicing lawyer who has been actively involved in Vancouver civic politics for over twenty-five years. He co-founded Vancouver's custom transit service for people with disabilities [HandyDART], and served terms as an elected official on both the Vancouver Park Board and Vancouver City Council under the COPE banner.

Bob followed the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games as a reporter for Vancouver 24 Hours and Sun Media's QMI Agency, Business in Vancouver columnist and Around the Rings correspondent. Bob is also a regular guest on The Sport Market on Team 1040 and is the author of the new e-book Red Mittens & Red Ink: The Vancouver Olympics.

Stuart Mackinnon was a Park Board Commissioner representing the Green Party from 2008-2011. He continues to blog about parks and public space issues at www.betterparks.org.

The Mainlander is a Metro Vancouver online publication discussing municipal politics.

Kathryn Marshall is a columnist, blogger, commentator and former spokesperson for EthicalOil.org. Kathryn’s articles have appeared in newspapers across Canada, and she is a regular guest on talk radio and television programs. She is a weekly columnist for 24 Hours Vancouver. Kathryn holds a degree in Women’s Studies and is currently completing a law degree.

Anthony Norfolk was a lawyer for 40 years until he retired, practicing Administrative and Immigration Law. For 50 years, the last 25 in Vancouver, he has pursued his hobby of involvement in local planning and design issues. In 2011 the City of Vancouver granted him an award in recognition of "his principled positions and longstanding commitment to Heritage advocacy".

Geoff Plant was the Attorney General of British Columbia and Minister Responsible for Treaty Negotiations from 2001 to 2005. He was first elected to the British Columbia Legislature in 1996 and from 1996 to 2001 was Opposition Justice Critic, as well as serving on a number of legislative and caucus committees. As Attorney General, Mr. Plant was the Chair of the Legislative Review Committee and the Minister responsible for the creation and oversight of the Citizens’ Assembly on Electoral Reform.

In 2002, he finished his sixth term as a City Councillor in Vancouver, BC. He also served on the Board of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (Metro Vancouver) and was appointed to the first board of the Greater Vancouver Transportation Authority (TransLink) in 1999. He has spoken at numerous conventions and conferences in many countries, writes a monthly column for Business in Vancouver on civic issues, and conducts tours and seminars on the development of Vancouver. He also publishes an electronic magazine on urban issues, with a focus on Vancouver, called “Price Tags,” (recent issues at www.pricetags.ca).

His name is Glissando Remmy, but most people call him... Glissando Remmy! A Vancouver Writer & Political Satirist. "We live in Vancouver and this keeps us busy."

Martin Strong began as a radio announcer in the mid-1980‘s heyday of rock radio. By 1990 Marty became afternoon co-host and news announcer at 99.3 The Fox in Vancouver where he was able to hone his off-the-cuff and always witty broadcast style. In ‘96 he was lured to Classic Rock 101, where he soon teamed up with Brother Jake Edwards, eventually becoming the #1 among adult listeners aged 25-54. Marty lives in Vancouver with his wife, 2 children, and dog Bella. He’s currently at the park trying to convince Bella to drop the ball.

Sam Sullivan is the founder of the Global Civic Policy Society and the Vancouver Urban Forum and is an Adjunct Professor at the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. He is a Member of the Order of Canada and is a former Mayor of Vancouver.

VP Development at Rize Alliance, Vancouver. Urbanist, snowboarder, sailor, engineer, traveller, burner, dog servant... IMAGINE CONSTRUCT PROGRESS.

Cristian Worthington is an expert in direct marketing and is the founder of several technology firms. His company was the first to enumerate a federal riding for Elections Canada and was the first to provide voter preference tracking software to members of parliament.