Sam Sullivan

Sam Sullivan, CM (born 1960) is the current Mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Sullivan was first elected to Vancouver City Council in 1993 as a member of Non-Partisan Association. With twelve years of council experience, Sullivan is currently the longest-serving member of the council.

Sullivan as City Councillor

In Vancouver's 2002 General Local elections, Sam Sullivan was the only incumbent member of city council from the Non-Partisan Association to win re-election after the NPA-dominated council was defeated by the COPE.

In 2004, he took on the leadership role in the 'no' side for the Vancouver wards referendum, in the fight against a proposed ward system of election which was to replace the current at-large system of choosing councillors. The proposal was eventually defeated 54% to 46%.

2005 Mayoral Race

Following the 2002 electoral losses, the Non-Partisan Association rebuilt its slate for 2005. Several high-profile names were nominated to be the NPA mayoral candidate. One of the most prominent contenders was the former BC Liberal Party deputy-Premier Christy Clark. In what many viewed as a surprise victory, Sullivan defeated Clark to become the right-wing, pro-business, NPA mayoral candidate.

Sullivan ran against several candidates, the most prominent of which was Vision Vancouver councillor, Jim Green. Sullivan defeated Green by a narrow margin of 3,747 votes of 130,000 ballots cast in the November 19, 2005 municipal election . A second, minor candidate named James Green also ran in this election gaining over 4,000 votes. Accusations followed that the second Green had placed himself on the ballot in order to confuse the voters, siphon votes away from Jim Green, and allow Sullivan to capitalize on the split vote. Along with Sullivan, five other NPA councillors were voted into Vancouver City council chambers.

Work with the physically disabled

Besides being a politician, Sullivan is probably best known as an advocate for the physically disabled. Sullivan became quadriplegic after he broke his neck in a skiing accident at the age of 19. After a struggle with depression, he successfully completed a Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Simon Fraser University. Sullivan later founded six non-profit societies with the goal of improving the quality of life for disabled people in North America. Though he is considered quadriplegic Sullivan has retained the use of his hands and can thus write, use the telephone, and drive.

In 2005, Sullivan was invested as a member of the Order of Canada by Governor General Adrienne Clarkson. Sullivan has also received the Terry Fox Award for national excellence and the Peter F. Drucker Award for Innovation.

Sullivan is currently a member of various groups promoting interest for the disabled:

Member of the steering committee for the Central Library
Vice President of the Metropolitan Board of Health
founder of Blueways Program
member of Tetra Society
Disabled Sailing Association
co-inventor of TrailRider, a one-wheeled vehicle

2006 Olympic Winter Games

Sullivan took part in the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics, in the ceremony where the Olympic Flag was passed from Turin to Vancouver. The ceremony involves an official of the current host city waving the flag eight times, then handing it off to an official of the next host city, who waves it eight times. When it was his turn, the flag was put into a special holder built into Sullivan's wheelchair. Holding it with one of his hands, Sullivan then swung his wheelchair back and forth eight times to wave the flag.

After the event, Sullivan was swamped with letters from people with disabilities and challenges who were inspired by the act, and received many invitations to be a keynote speaker at conventions. A reporter from NBC also offered to help him write his autobiography. "I especially was moved to get letters from people who wrote very eloquent letters, saying they had considered suicide, and changed their mind when they saw me perform my duties...To see I had such an impact on people's lives was truly a humbling experience," Sullivan said in response to the reaction. ^*

2006 Paralympic Winter Games

On March 19, 2006, Sullivan returned to Turin to repeat the flag ceremony process, this time for the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Paralympics. Sullivan received the flag from International Paralympic Committee president Sir Phillip Craven and waved it in the same manner as the Olympic flag, then handed the flag over to Whistler mayor Ken Melamed. This marks the first time a physically disabled mayor has accepted the Paralympic flag in the closing ceremony. Sullivan remarked, "There are a lot of Paralympic athletes who have contacted me. They say the fact of my being a mayor in a major city, an Olympic and Paralympic city, sends a strong message that disabled people can play an important and crucial part in society."

Sullivan's return to Turin was also marked by people recognizing him on the street, most likely due to his appearance at the Olympic closing ceremonies a month earlier. "I would get out of the car in the central square, the piazza, and people would come up wanting to talk to me and wanting my autograph," said Sullivan. "I wasn't really aware that so many people knew who I was." ^*

Interesting facts

Sullivan has a long history with BC's Chinese community and is the first Vancouver mayor capable of speaking basic Cantonese and of reading Chinese.

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