George Harvie (politician)

George V. Harvie[2] (born c. 1951)[3] is a Canadian politician. He has been mayor of the city of Delta, British Columbia since 2018.

George Harvie
Mayor of Delta, British Columbia
Assumed office
November 5, 2018[1]
Preceded byLois Jackson
Personal details
Bornc. 1951
Vancouver, British Columbia
Political partyAchieving for Delta
Spouse(s)Gillian[2]
Children2[2]
Occupationbureaucrat

Born in Vancouver, Harvie grew up in Burnaby, British Columbia.[4] Harvie was educated at Simon Fraser University, where he earned a B.A. in Economics. He also hold an Administrative Management Special Certificate and an Environmental Health Diploma of Technology from the British Columbia Institute of Technology, and studied Advanced Management at Dalhousie University.[2] Upon getting married, he moved to Delta around 1976.[4]

Harvie was chief public health inspector in Burnaby during the 1980s,[5] and later became the city's deputy manager,[6] and was also the city's director of human resources.[2] Harvie served as Delta's chief administration officer (CAO) from 2001[7] to 2018. Harvie signed an initial four-year contract worth $600,000 to be CAO of the municipality.[6] As CAO of Delta, Harvie spearheaded a plan to "streamline" the city's administration and to make Delta more "business friendly". The plan included cutting his own staff from three to one, plus himself.[8] As CAO, he was in charge of about 1000 municipal employees and was responsible for carrying out council's decisions, including doing research to present to council.[3] He officially resigned as CAO in May 2018 when he announced his plans to run for mayor in the 2018 mayoral election for the "Achieving for Delta" slate, a new party which was named for Harvie's "past achievements" as CAO as well as his party's "future achievements".[9] His slate would include outgoing mayor Lois Jackson, who decided to run as a city councillor instead, after being mayor for 19 years.[10]

During the 2018 election campaign, Harvie was criticized for his time as Delta's chief administration officer, when he stated that a composting facility in the city's East Ladner neighbourhood did not need an air permit despite residents' complaints of foul odours.[11] Harvie was elected in the 2018 mayoral election in a three-way race, winning 40% of the vote, defeating former police chief Jim Cressford and city councillor Sylvia Bishop. Upon his election, he stated his priorities as lobbying for a new bridge over the Fraser River and "overhauling the building permit application process".[7] Building a bridge over the Fraser had been planned by the BC Liberal government, but was scrapped by the British Columbia New Democratic Party when they came to power in 2017.[12] Harvie would later change his position, supporting the replacement of the George Massey Tunnel rather than build a new bridge.[13]

Following his election, Harvie was criticized for a 'Delta first' plan that would charge residents of other municipalities more for using Delta recreational facilities.[14] As mayor, Harvie supported the construction of an industrial subdivision next to Burns Bog, an ecological conservancy area.[15] In December 2019, under his leadership, Delta legalized ridesharing companies.[16][17]

References
  1. @Harvie4Delta (7 Nov 2018). "On Monday, I was officially sworn in as Mayor of Delta. I am very excited for the next four years, working with Council to make positive changes for our community. Now it's time for me to get to work" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. Delta - Mayor George V Harvie
  3. "Delta's top bureaucrat is up to the challenges". The Province. August 24, 2008. p. 14.
  4. "Top civic bureaucrat has been at home in Delta for 37 years". Delta Optimist. April 3, 2013.
  5. "Burnaby to test SkyTrain noise". Vancouver Sun. November 26, 1985. p. C20.
  6. "New Delta CAO has $600,000 parachute". The Now (newspaper). December 21, 2001. p. 1.
  7. "Harvie wins mayoral contest on pledge to build new bridge". Vancouver Sun. October 22, 2018. p. A6.
  8. "Streamlined Delta is open for business: CAO". The Now (newspaper). March 27, 2002. p. 15.
  9. "Former Delta CAO Harvie plans to run for mayor's seat". The Province. May 15, 2018. p. A10.
  10. "Mayoral election races could bring major change". Vancouver Sun. September 27, 2018. p. A2.
  11. "Delta's composting stink clouds election". The Province. September 26, 2018. p. 6.
  12. "Civic chaos or more of the same?". Vancouver Sun. October 22, 2018. p. A8.
  13. "Delta residents near Massey crossing want new tunnel, not a bridge". Vancouver Sun. October 15, 2019. p. A1.
  14. "Incoming mayor's 'Delta First' plan for rec centre fees called unfair". The Province. October 29, 2018. p. 12.
  15. "Delta industrial project next to Burns Bog approved by Metro board". The Province. October 10, 2019. p. A8.
  16. "Delta joins cities licensing ride-hailing". The Province. December 9, 2019. p. A8.
  17. "Delta councillor the latest politician to push back against Uber, Lyft". CTV News. September 13, 2019.
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