Chair of the Vancouver Park Board hoping to go provincial
Posted June 3, 2012 4:15 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – The chair of the Vancouver Park Board is stepping down from that position to shift her focus to provincial politics. Constance Barnes says she wants to be the NDP’s candidate in Vancouver-False Creek in 2013.
Barnes says she will seek the nomination, adding it’s something she’s been considering for a long time.
“I wanted to make sure I loved the work, which I really, really, love,” she stresses. “I wanted to make sure I felt grounded, that I felt comfortable, that I really knew the issues, that I had the support.”
In May of 2009, Barnes was charged with drunk driving after falling asleep behind the wheel, and slamming into a South Vancouver home. She pleaded guilty, and says she has now been sober for nearly three years.
“When they say you hit rock-bottom, in my family, as my pops would say, when the (stuff) hits the fan, you look at it in the face and you deal with it, and that’s what I’ve done with every single thing that I made the promise to,” she explains.
Barnes will remain in her role as a park board commissioner. Her father, Emery Barnes, was a New Democrat MLA for more than 20 years.
Vancouver-False Creek is currently held by Children and Family Development Minister Mary McNeil.
Colleague says Barnes should have made decision last year
Barnes’ decision to set her sights on provincial politics is not sitting well with her colleague on the park board.
Melissa De Genova, with rival party the NPA, points out Barnes is only months into her second term on the board.
“She really should have made her decision to seek this nomination before she decided to add her name to the 2011 park board slate.”
She claims that Barnes’ departure from the park board will trigger a costly byelection to replace her.
