Mayor-elect Pete Fry has named Rebecca Bligh to lead his transition team and appointed COPE’s Sean Orr as first deputy mayor ahead of the new council being sworn in on Nov. 2.
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The ABC-majority council said goodbye Tuesday as Vancouver’s mayor-elect Pete Fry prepared to take office and reshaped the city hall team around his incoming administration.
Fry said the council roster would operate differently. “I’ve been very intentional in ensuring everybody’s got a little something,” he said. “I want the entire council to feel validated and worthy and have an opportunity to lean in on things important to them.”
Outgoing Mayor Ken Sim said the council had delivered both good and difficult moments. “It has been the best of times, and it has been sometimes not the best of times,” Sim said, adding: “Mayor-elect Pete Fry, congratulations, and like I said, you’re going to face a lot of challenges and you’ll face tough roles.”
Outgoing Coun. Lenny Zhou thanked residents for trusting him and for raising concerns. “I learned something from you, and I hope I’m a better person,” Zhou said.
Fry appointed Rebecca Bligh, who lost her bid for mayor, to lead his transition team. Fry said he trusts her judgment and experience, and that she is already familiar with how the mayor’s office operated. “I trust her judgment and her various expertise, and she’s also a friend,” he said. “It’s a good fit for me. Rebecca has been on the ABC inside for a bit too, so she has a better understanding of how the mayor’s office was operating and what we can do differently.”
Bligh said she felt honoured to be asked by Fry and emphasized working relationships between leaders. “I was honoured to be asked by Pete, and I think it’s what Vancouverites want,” Bligh said. “They want leaders who can work together, who can put partisanship aside and leverage each other’s skills. Together, we can make sure he gets the strongest start possible with this new administration.”
Fry also reappointed the lone ABC councillor, Mike Klassen, to the Metro Vancouver Board, and named COPE’s Sean Orr as the first deputy mayor. Orr said he expected the difference to be immediate because he will now have direct access to the mayor’s office. “I was on the outside, I felt,” he said. “I never had a one-on-one with the mayor, I was never in the mayor’s office…It’s already so much more open for me.” Orr added that he will be working more closely with the mayor. “I’ve got a mayor working directly with me, telling me his plans, totally open and transparent and wanting to share the load,” he said.
The new mayor and council will be sworn in on Nov. 2.
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