Vancouver mayoral candidate who kicked crack addiction seeks transparency at city hall

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He’s calling for more transparency at city hall, and Vancouver mayoral candidate Mike Hansen is nothing if not transparent when it comes to revealing details about his own life.

In his official biography on his website,  the 60-year-old Hansen informs voters that he’s, among other things, a former crack addict and occasional sex-trade customer.

I’m a Cannabis educator (not associated with ‘marijuana/420’ activism) and use Cannabis as recovery for my crack disease and clean for 19 years. When in a relationship I’m a ‘one women man’ but when I’m single you might find me in the company of a ‘Lady of the evening’, day or night.Don’t be alarmed, as I’m a proponent! I’m a “proud, happy and gay heterosexual”. — from Mike Hansen’s bio

Is he over sharing? Hansen doesn’t think so.

“If I’m after accountability and transparency at city hall then I have to be transparent about myself,” he told the Vancouver Sun. “I’m a real human. I had a 19-year crack problem, I was an alcoholic from 17 to 45, and I’ve been homeless twice.”

Hansen advocates “applied democracy” and insists if he is elected mayor he’ll “introduce democracy to city hall for the 1st time ever in Canadian history.”

Canada is not a true democratic society, he claims.

“We still have a colonial style rule where public servants can do whatever they want and there is no accountability to the voters,” said Hansen.

Under his applied democracy system, Hansen believes city hall needs to operate like the “billion-dollar corporation that is” with quarterly reports and annual general meetings.  He says important municipal decisions should be voted on by the public through a series of plebiscites, and that mayor should just be a facilitator who carries out the wishes of the citizens.

“There has to be a system in which the citizen has a voice on where tax money is spent,” he said.

As mayor, Hansen says he will not travel out of the Greater Vancouver area. In the 21st century, he says, video conferencing eliminates the need for municipal junkets.

“Did you watch the Jetsons? George and his boss never met face to face. They were always looking at each other through monitors,” he said. “It’s about saving money. We need to cut the wings off these frequent flyers. There is no reason why the mayor and council need to drop down to Portland or wherever to see how they are doing it. Do you not have a smart enough crew here to figure things out on your own?”

Here is Hansen’s full statement from the vancouver.ca’s candidate profile page. The city says all profiles were reproduced verbatim as submitted by the candidates.

“Applied Democracy” in the 21st Century. This is the very same system large corporation operate under. Shareholders want to know their moneys/investments are safe! A billion dollar corporation comparable to Vancouver, provides mandatory quarterly reports and AGMs, to enforce accountability an transparency. A facilitator of “Applied Democracy” swears an oath to The Voters. Making The Voters the mayor’s Councillors, through plebiscites on extra spending. The ‘elected Councillors’ will become ‘Ombudspersons’ for The Citizens concerns. As mayor my mandate will be The Voters/Taxpayers best interests. Issuing ‘one voting share’ certificate in the incorporation of Vancouver. Facilitating “Applied Democracy” in Vancouver will offer the best return for your $tax dollars$! No more out of control spending on travels, galas and “visions of entitlement”. As Mayor I won’t travel outside of the Vancouver area. Attending meeting by CCTV conferencing! Implementing “budget freezes” at city hall, parks and transit, ensuring accountability and transparency.