Latest News

Kelly Greene

Photo submitted

Kelly Greene a first-time city councillor

By Lorraine Graves

Published 4:23 PDT, Mon October 22, 2018

Last Updated: 2:12 PDT, Wed May 12, 2021

Kelly Greene has won her first civic election, some 17 months after she ran for the NDP and finished a close second to Richmond Steveston MLA John Yap in the May 2017 provincial election.

“I come from a long line of very proud entrepreneurs and I’m excited to be part of the community in that way,” she said.

Greene’s answer to the next question showed her background not only as a mom but also as an Arts grad with a university education in accounting and economics.

How does she feel when someone says of another, “She’s just a mom”?

Greene said, “It’s a little bit frustrating. There are so many hats that a mom wears. And I think that somebody did a study where if you divided out all the jobs that moms do, the economic contribution is very significant and just saying you’re a mom doesn’t preclude you from being other things too. You know, I think that I’m a community advocate. That’s the hat that I wear, to be sure that people are being heard. I don’t think that’s insignificant. It might not be a paid gig but it doesn’t mean it’s not valuable.“

What skills from her education and experience does Greene bring to the new job of city councillor?

“Well, I’m good at multitasking,” she says with a knowing laugh. “As I’m sure something every parent of very young children has had to adapt to.”

Greene continued listing her palette of skills: “I’m good at listening, and getting to the heart of the matter very quickly and getting that analysis of the data. That was one of my strengths at university.”

Saying that while she wasn’t sure she would win, she was sure that if she did, written words would be a help, Keely Greene said: “Tonight is the end of our campaign, but it is not the end. It is the beginning.”

Elaborating on that theme, Greene said, “It’s the beginning of transparent, responsible city government.”

Citing one of their prime election issues, she continued, “We will ensure that our farmland is protected and respected, for our future generations.”

On the second pillar of the RCA campaign, Greene said, “We’ll make headway on the affordability crisis which is damaging our neighbourhoods and risking our community’s future.”

On Greene’s last point relating to campaign issues, she said “We will improve conflict of interest rules so that residents can have confidence in their city councillors and lobbyists’ activity will be recorded.”

She had opened her remarks by thanking her husband, children and parents for their unwavering patience, love and support.

After discussing the issues, Greene then acknowledged the dedicated volunteers, donors and supporters saying that without them, “None of these changes would be possible.” She thanked her running mates on the RCA/RITE coalition, highlighting Harold Steves and Carol Day for their leadership and mentorship, thanking them for their service to Richmond.

“We have a lot of work ahead of us, and we will guide our actions by our dedication to building a community we can all be proud of,” she said.

“Richmond will not be overlooked and neglected any longer. We have changed our piece of the world. Richmond citizens will not be taken for granted again.”