Matthew Laird: Difference between revisions
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== Environmentalism == |
== Environmentalism == |
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Laird has talked about being raised around recycling and green ideas as the basis for his environmental activism.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=e32a14a8-efcd-4ec5-9c85-a58021332640&sponsor=|title=Volunteering to help the planet|publisher=Royal City Record|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> While involved with transportation and sustainability advocacy most of his life he became most involved after moving to New Westminster in 2003. |
Laird has talked about being raised around recycling and green ideas as the basis for his environmental activism.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.canada.com/story_print.html?id=e32a14a8-efcd-4ec5-9c85-a58021332640&sponsor=|title=Volunteering to help the planet|publisher=Royal City Record|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> While involved with transportation and sustainability advocacy most of his life he became most involved after moving to New Westminster in 2003. |
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He was a founding member of New Westminster Environmental Partners,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MhSpMgtt34|title=New Westminster Environmental Partners on CTV|date=March 4, 2007|work=[[CIVT-TV|CTV]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKURrdL2eYU|title=NWEP Urban Sustainability Forum Announcement|publisher=Shaw TV|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> a New Westminster focused non-partisan sustainability advocacy group. Some notable accomplishments while working with NWEP are the implementation of an anti-idling bylaw,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZklih2VgTY|title=NWEP on anti-idling bylaw|publisher=Shaw TV|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> a cosmetic pesticide ban,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nwep.ca/new-westminster-pesticide-awareness-coalition/|title=New Westminster Pesticide Awareness Coalition|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> pedestrian safety improvements at [[New Westminster Station|New Westminster]] [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] Station<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C_5vr7jfKw|title=NWEP on New Westminster Station|publisher=Shaw TV|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> and a Sustainability Documentary Film Festival. Laird was also a proponent for [[New Westminster|New Westminster's]] Royal City Farmers Market and has served on the board of directors for three years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://rcfm.ca/about-2/whos-who-at-the-rcfm-association/matthew-laird/|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> |
He was a founding member of New Westminster Environmental Partners,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MhSpMgtt34|title=New Westminster Environmental Partners on CTV|date=March 4, 2007|work=[[CIVT-TV|CTV]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKURrdL2eYU|title=NWEP Urban Sustainability Forum Announcement|publisher=Shaw TV|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> a New Westminster focused non-partisan sustainability advocacy group. Some notable accomplishments while working with NWEP are the implementation of an anti-idling bylaw,<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZklih2VgTY|title=NWEP on anti-idling bylaw|publisher=Shaw TV|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> a cosmetic pesticide ban,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://nwep.ca/new-westminster-pesticide-awareness-coalition/|title=New Westminster Pesticide Awareness Coalition|accessdate=September 27, 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404055205/http://nwep.ca/new-westminster-pesticide-awareness-coalition/|archivedate=April 4, 2012|df=}}</ref> pedestrian safety improvements at [[New Westminster Station|New Westminster]] [[SkyTrain (Vancouver)|SkyTrain]] Station<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3C_5vr7jfKw|title=NWEP on New Westminster Station|publisher=Shaw TV|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> and a Sustainability Documentary Film Festival. Laird was also a proponent for [[New Westminster|New Westminster's]] Royal City Farmers Market and has served on the board of directors for three years.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://rcfm.ca/about-2/whos-who-at-the-rcfm-association/matthew-laird/|accessdate=September 27, 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424230123/http://rcfm.ca/about-2/whos-who-at-the-rcfm-association/matthew-laird/|archivedate=April 24, 2012|df=}}</ref> |
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Always an advocate for transit and sustainable transportation, Laird is a member of the Livable Region Coalition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.livableregion.ca/about.html|title=Coalition Members|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> In conjunction with his NWEP work, Laird was a leader of the campaign to stop [[TransLink (British Columbia)|TransLink's]] United Boulevard Extension project.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.burnabynow.com/news/Beware+Plan+dead+says+Laird/3980635/story.html|title=Beware: Plan not dead yet, says Laird|publisher=Burnaby Now|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> He's a motorman on Vancouver's [[Downtown Historic Railway|Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway]] and was a driver on Bombardier's Olympic Line during the [[2010 Winter Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2010/02/a-talk-with-an-olympic-line-streetcar-driver/|title=A talk with an Olympic Line streetcar driver|publisher=The Buzzer Blog (Translink)|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> |
Always an advocate for transit and sustainable transportation, Laird is a member of the Livable Region Coalition.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.livableregion.ca/about.html|title=Coalition Members|accessdate=September 27, 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20121203002955/http://www.livableregion.ca/about.html|archivedate=December 3, 2012|df=}}</ref> In conjunction with his NWEP work, Laird was a leader of the campaign to stop [[TransLink (British Columbia)|TransLink's]] United Boulevard Extension project.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.burnabynow.com/news/Beware+Plan+dead+says+Laird/3980635/story.html|title=Beware: Plan not dead yet, says Laird|publisher=Burnaby Now|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> He's a motorman on Vancouver's [[Downtown Historic Railway|Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway]] and was a driver on Bombardier's Olympic Line during the [[2010 Winter Olympics]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://buzzer.translink.ca/index.php/2010/02/a-talk-with-an-olympic-line-streetcar-driver/|title=A talk with an Olympic Line streetcar driver|publisher=The Buzzer Blog (Translink)|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> |
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== Politics == |
== Politics == |
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Laird was the co-founder of RecallBC,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.columbiajournal.ca/02-12/recall.html|title=It's Anxiety Time for Useless Politicians. Get Ready for Recalls.|date=December 2002|work=[[Columbia Journal]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.delta-optimist.com/issues03/051103/news/051103nn4.html|title=Recall campaigns throughout B.C. are meeting similar fate |
Laird was the co-founder of RecallBC,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.columbiajournal.ca/02-12/recall.html|title=It's Anxiety Time for Useless Politicians. Get Ready for Recalls.|date=December 2002|work=[[Columbia Journal]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://archive.delta-optimist.com/issues03/051103/news/051103nn4.html|title=Recall campaigns throughout B.C. are meeting similar fate|date=May 11, 2003|work=[[Delta Optimist]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011}}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> a non-partisan organization which failed in a number of attempts to [[Recall election|recall]] [[British Columbia Liberal Party|BC Liberal]] [[Legislative Assembly of British Columbia|MLAs]]. |
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Laird was elected leader of the short-lived [[British Columbia Moderate Democratic Movement|Moderate Democratic Movement]] [[political party]] in 2003. He led the party into the [[British Columbia Democratic Coalition]] which eventually became the [[Democratic Reform British Columbia]] party, serving as the new party's first president. Laird was DRBC's organizational chair and was the candidate in riding of [[Burnaby North]] during the May 2005 general election.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/bcvotes2005/riding/006/|title=British Columbia Votes 2005 - Districts|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|accessdate=September 2, 2010}}</ref> |
Laird was elected leader of the short-lived [[British Columbia Moderate Democratic Movement|Moderate Democratic Movement]] [[political party]] in 2003. He led the party into the [[British Columbia Democratic Coalition]] which eventually became the [[Democratic Reform British Columbia]] party, serving as the new party's first president. Laird was DRBC's organizational chair and was the candidate in riding of [[Burnaby North]] during the May 2005 general election.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbc.ca/bcvotes2005/riding/006/|title=British Columbia Votes 2005 - Districts|publisher=[[CBC.ca]]|accessdate=September 2, 2010}}</ref> |
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As founding member of [[Democratic Reform BC|DRBC]], Laird was the main author of the party's constitution and co-author of the party platform. After the founding of the new party, Laird remained the party's chief organizer, chairing the founding convention and AGM in 2005. He was the party's provincial campaign chair during the [[British Columbia general election, 2005|2005 provincial election]]. Laird also served the party's main public relations coordinator, penning most releases and maintaining the party infrastructure such as the website, e-mail, and phone system. |
As founding member of [[Democratic Reform BC|DRBC]], Laird was the main author of the party's constitution and co-author of the party platform. After the founding of the new party, Laird remained the party's chief organizer, chairing the founding convention and AGM in 2005. He was the party's provincial campaign chair during the [[British Columbia general election, 2005|2005 provincial election]]. Laird also served the party's main public relations coordinator, penning most releases and maintaining the party infrastructure such as the website, e-mail, and phone system. |
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In the [[British Columbia general election, 2005|2005 B.C. General Election]] Laird ran in the [[Burnaby North]] riding for [[Democratic Reform British Columbia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/letters/story.html?id=897afaa5-32ec-4870-95ea-0610bb7cc074|title=Gondola capacity concern|date=February 17, 2009|work=[[The Province]]|accessdate=September 2, 2010}}</ref> He finished last in a field of four candidates with 316 votes (1.38% of total valid votes). |
In the [[British Columbia general election, 2005|2005 B.C. General Election]] Laird ran in the [[Burnaby North]] riding for [[Democratic Reform British Columbia]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/letters/story.html?id=897afaa5-32ec-4870-95ea-0610bb7cc074|title=Gondola capacity concern|date=February 17, 2009|work=[[The Province]]|accessdate=September 2, 2010|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120614051747/http://www2.canada.com/theprovince/news/letters/story.html?id=897afaa5-32ec-4870-95ea-0610bb7cc074|archivedate=June 14, 2012|df=}}</ref> He finished last in a field of four candidates with 316 votes (1.38% of total valid votes). |
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Laird later ran for New Westminster city council in November 2005, receiving 1010 votes (lowest vote count receiving a seat was 3432). |
Laird later ran for New Westminster city council in November 2005, receiving 1010 votes (lowest vote count receiving a seat was 3432). |
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Laird resigned from [[Democratic Reform BC|DRBC]] in late 2008 to accept an invitation to join the [[Green Party of British Columbia|Green Party]]. He accepted the nomination to run for the party in the [[British Columbia general election, 2009|May 2009 Provincial]] Election in [[New Westminster]]. He was also appointed as the party's Higher Education Critic. |
Laird resigned from [[Democratic Reform BC|DRBC]] in late 2008 to accept an invitation to join the [[Green Party of British Columbia|Green Party]]. He accepted the nomination to run for the party in the [[British Columbia general election, 2009|May 2009 Provincial]] Election in [[New Westminster]]. He was also appointed as the party's Higher Education Critic. |
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At the civic level, Laird served as the president of the Quayside Community Board in 2010, a [[New Westminster]] resident's association representing 4,000 condo and townhouse owners.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://quaysideboard.com/gif/1110/agm%202010%20report.pdf|title=Record attendance at the Quayside Community Board AGM|accessdate=September 27, 2011}}</ref> |
At the civic level, Laird served as the president of the Quayside Community Board in 2010, a [[New Westminster]] resident's association representing 4,000 condo and townhouse owners.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://quaysideboard.com/gif/1110/agm%202010%20report.pdf|title=Record attendance at the Quayside Community Board AGM|accessdate=September 27, 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424230123/http://quaysideboard.com/gif/1110/agm%202010%20report.pdf|archivedate=April 24, 2012|df=}}</ref> |
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== Electoral Record == |
== Electoral Record == |
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!Total votes |
!Total votes |
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|- |
|- |
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|[[New Westminster]] City council 2005<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newwestcity-old.smallboxcms.com/city_hall/mayor_and_council/election_information/articles158.php|title=2005 Official Election Results|work=City of [[New Westminster]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011}}</ref> |
|[[New Westminster]] City council 2005<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newwestcity-old.smallboxcms.com/city_hall/mayor_and_council/election_information/articles158.php|title=2005 Official Election Results|work=City of [[New Westminster]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20120712003823/http://newwestcity-old.smallboxcms.com/city_hall/mayor_and_council/election_information/articles158.php|archivedate=July 12, 2012|df=}}</ref> |
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|Municipal General |
|Municipal General |
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|1010 |
|1010 |
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|- |
|- |
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|[[New Westminster]] City council 2008<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newwestcity-old.smallboxcms.com/city_hall/mayor_and_council/election_information/articles157.php|title=2008 Official Election Results|work=City of [[New Westminster]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011}}</ref> |
|[[New Westminster]] City council 2008<ref>{{cite news|url=http://newwestcity-old.smallboxcms.com/city_hall/mayor_and_council/election_information/articles157.php|title=2008 Official Election Results|work=City of [[New Westminster]]|accessdate=April 20, 2011|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://archive.is/20120712174216/http://newwestcity-old.smallboxcms.com/city_hall/mayor_and_council/election_information/articles157.php|archivedate=July 12, 2012|df=}}</ref> |
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|Municipal General |
|Municipal General |
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|1923 |
|1923 |
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Revision as of 03:31, 22 January 2018
Matthew Laird (born 1977) is a Canadian academic, activist and politician. Having helped lead numerous political campaigns he continues to work with community groups on social and environmental issues.
Laird was born and raised in Vancouver, British Columbia, earning a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of British Columbia. After spending some years in the private sector as a software developer he returned to academia to work in bioinformatic research at Simon Fraser University. He currently resides in the City of Vancouver.
Environmentalism
Laird has talked about being raised around recycling and green ideas as the basis for his environmental activism.[1] While involved with transportation and sustainability advocacy most of his life he became most involved after moving to New Westminster in 2003.
He was a founding member of New Westminster Environmental Partners,[2][3] a New Westminster focused non-partisan sustainability advocacy group. Some notable accomplishments while working with NWEP are the implementation of an anti-idling bylaw,[4] a cosmetic pesticide ban,[5] pedestrian safety improvements at New Westminster SkyTrain Station[6] and a Sustainability Documentary Film Festival. Laird was also a proponent for New Westminster's Royal City Farmers Market and has served on the board of directors for three years.[7]
Always an advocate for transit and sustainable transportation, Laird is a member of the Livable Region Coalition.[8] In conjunction with his NWEP work, Laird was a leader of the campaign to stop TransLink's United Boulevard Extension project.[9] He's a motorman on Vancouver's Vancouver Downtown Historic Railway and was a driver on Bombardier's Olympic Line during the 2010 Winter Olympics.[10]
Politics
Laird was the co-founder of RecallBC,[11][12] a non-partisan organization which failed in a number of attempts to recall BC Liberal MLAs.
Laird was elected leader of the short-lived Moderate Democratic Movement political party in 2003. He led the party into the British Columbia Democratic Coalition which eventually became the Democratic Reform British Columbia party, serving as the new party's first president. Laird was DRBC's organizational chair and was the candidate in riding of Burnaby North during the May 2005 general election.[13]
As founding member of DRBC, Laird was the main author of the party's constitution and co-author of the party platform. After the founding of the new party, Laird remained the party's chief organizer, chairing the founding convention and AGM in 2005. He was the party's provincial campaign chair during the 2005 provincial election. Laird also served the party's main public relations coordinator, penning most releases and maintaining the party infrastructure such as the website, e-mail, and phone system.
In the 2005 B.C. General Election Laird ran in the Burnaby North riding for Democratic Reform British Columbia.[14] He finished last in a field of four candidates with 316 votes (1.38% of total valid votes).
Laird later ran for New Westminster city council in November 2005, receiving 1010 votes (lowest vote count receiving a seat was 3432).
In March 2006, Laird released the Democratic Reform British Columbia Gateway Strategy, of which he was the main author. The report was an alternative vision to the BC Liberal plan for Greater Vancouver long term transportation planning.
A year later in March 2007, Laird released the Democratic Reform British Columbia Sustainable Energy Platform, detailing the party vision for renewable energy production and conservation for the province.
Laird resigned from DRBC in late 2008 to accept an invitation to join the Green Party. He accepted the nomination to run for the party in the May 2009 Provincial Election in New Westminster. He was also appointed as the party's Higher Education Critic.
At the civic level, Laird served as the president of the Quayside Community Board in 2010, a New Westminster resident's association representing 4,000 condo and townhouse owners.[15]
Electoral Record
| 2005 British Columbia general election: Burnaby North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Richard T. Lee | 10,421 | 45.59 | |||||
| New Democratic | Pietro Calendino | 10,356 | 45.31 | |||||
| Green | Richard Brand | 1,763 | 7.71 | |||||
| Democratic Reform | Matthew Laird | 316 | 1.38 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 22,856 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 155 | 0.68 | ||||||
| Turnout | 23,011 | 59.76 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[16] | ||||||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Democratic | Dawn Black | 13,418 | |||
| Liberal | Carole Millar | 8,240 | |||
| Green | Matthew Laird | 2,151 | – | ||
| Total valid votes | 23,809 | ||||
| Election | Type | Total votes |
|---|---|---|
| New Westminster City council 2005[17] | Municipal General | 1010 |
| New Westminster City council 2008[18] | Municipal General | 1923 |
References
- ^ "Volunteering to help the planet". Royal City Record. Retrieved September 27, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "New Westminster Environmental Partners on CTV". CTV. March 4, 2007. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ "NWEP Urban Sustainability Forum Announcement". Shaw TV. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ "NWEP on anti-idling bylaw". Shaw TV. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ "New Westminster Pesticide Awareness Coalition". Archived from the original on April 4, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "NWEP on New Westminster Station". Shaw TV. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20120424230123/http://rcfm.ca/about-2/whos-who-at-the-rcfm-association/matthew-laird/. Archived from the original on April 24, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Missing or empty|title=(help); Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Coalition Members". Archived from the original on December 3, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Beware: Plan not dead yet, says Laird". Burnaby Now. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ "A talk with an Olympic Line streetcar driver". The Buzzer Blog (Translink). Retrieved September 27, 2011.
- ^ "It's Anxiety Time for Useless Politicians. Get Ready for Recalls". Columbia Journal. December 2002. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
- ^ "Recall campaigns throughout B.C. are meeting similar fate". Delta Optimist. May 11, 2003. Retrieved April 20, 2011.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "British Columbia Votes 2005 - Districts". CBC.ca. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
- ^ "Gondola capacity concern". The Province. February 17, 2009. Archived from the original on June 14, 2012. Retrieved September 2, 2010.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Record attendance at the Quayside Community Board AGM" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "Statement of Votes - 38th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved 31 Dec 2023.
- ^ "2005 Official Election Results". City of New Westminster. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ "2008 Official Election Results". City of New Westminster. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved April 20, 2011.
{{cite news}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)