Vancouver School Board Chair Victoria Jung has announced that she had resigned from the ABC party in response to Mayor Ken Sim and other members' attempt to suspend the duties of Integrity Commissioner Lisa Southern.She argued that the move did not align with her values, thus giving her no choice but to leave.."Today I am resigning as a member of the ABC party," Jung wrote in a statement. "Recent events questioning the office of the Vancouver Integrity Commissioner have given me pause to reflect on my core values.""The trust the people of Vancouver placed in me during the 2022 municipal election is not taken lightly," she added, "and while differences do indeed come and go for elected officials, the imperative to serve on the public interest — versus private interest — is one that is non negotiable."Jung went on to note that this was her first time serving as an elected official, and that despite her decision to leave the party, she would try her best to honour the aforementioned trust as she continues as an elected trustee and chair of the VSB.Southern had been tasked with investigating code of conduct complaints filed against city councilors and advisory board members. In recent months, a number of those on Sim's staff have been accused of violating various rules.During a city council meeting on Tuesday, a ballcap-clad Sim begrudgingly moved to defer a vote on the matter until September 25, after councilors return from their summer break, following a hail mary play by Councilor Pete Fry."Yesterday Councilor Fry, on a holiday Monday, sent an email to all of council and senior city staff saying that he'd filed a complaint with the integrity commissioner against an unknown number of councilors and potentially myself," Sim said. "This is despite the clear guidelines and expectations from the integrity commissioner that complaints remain confidential."Sim noted that Fry's "purposely or recklessly" taken actions had "broken the expected confidentiality of the process," and that as a result, he had "no choice but to recommend a recess of this meeting out of an abundance of caution until this break with established protocol is dealt with."If eventually passed, the motion will temporarily prevent Southern from continuing her current investigations and taking up new ones until a third-party review has been conducted.
Vancouver School Board Chair Victoria Jung has announced that she had resigned from the ABC party in response to Mayor Ken Sim and other members' attempt to suspend the duties of Integrity Commissioner Lisa Southern.She argued that the move did not align with her values, thus giving her no choice but to leave.."Today I am resigning as a member of the ABC party," Jung wrote in a statement. "Recent events questioning the office of the Vancouver Integrity Commissioner have given me pause to reflect on my core values.""The trust the people of Vancouver placed in me during the 2022 municipal election is not taken lightly," she added, "and while differences do indeed come and go for elected officials, the imperative to serve on the public interest — versus private interest — is one that is non negotiable."Jung went on to note that this was her first time serving as an elected official, and that despite her decision to leave the party, she would try her best to honour the aforementioned trust as she continues as an elected trustee and chair of the VSB.Southern had been tasked with investigating code of conduct complaints filed against city councilors and advisory board members. In recent months, a number of those on Sim's staff have been accused of violating various rules.During a city council meeting on Tuesday, a ballcap-clad Sim begrudgingly moved to defer a vote on the matter until September 25, after councilors return from their summer break, following a hail mary play by Councilor Pete Fry."Yesterday Councilor Fry, on a holiday Monday, sent an email to all of council and senior city staff saying that he'd filed a complaint with the integrity commissioner against an unknown number of councilors and potentially myself," Sim said. "This is despite the clear guidelines and expectations from the integrity commissioner that complaints remain confidential."Sim noted that Fry's "purposely or recklessly" taken actions had "broken the expected confidentiality of the process," and that as a result, he had "no choice but to recommend a recess of this meeting out of an abundance of caution until this break with established protocol is dealt with."If eventually passed, the motion will temporarily prevent Southern from continuing her current investigations and taking up new ones until a third-party review has been conducted.
