Mike Hurley 시장은 더 친절하고 온화한 도시를 원했기 때문에 시장으로 출마했습니다. 그는 독립적으로 달리고 장기 재직자를 이겼습니다. 그는 전형적인 정치인의 길을 따르지 않았습니다.

그는 정치에 들어가기 전 버나비에서 30 년 동안 소방관으로 일했습니다. 소방 커뮤니티는 그의 시장이되기위한 캠페인의 중추였습니다. 그는 전염병이 닥쳤을 때 위기에 대응할 준비가 된 최초 대응 자로서의 경험을 느낍니다. Hurley는 "돌아가서 일을 어떻게하고 있는지 다시 생각하고 지역 사회를 돕기 위해 필요한 조정을하는 법을 배웁니다."라고 말합니다.

Hurley는 사람들의 삶을 변화시킬 수있는 것을 즐 겼기 때문에 소방관이되었습니다. 버나비 소방관 사회의 회장이었을 때 그는 매일 배고픈 아이들을위한 음식 프로그램 시작을 도왔습니다. 협회는 현재 고등학교와 청소년 센터를 포함하여 버나비 주변의 26 개 학교에 음식을 제공합니다.

소방관 화상 기금의 회장으로서 그는 밴쿠버 종합 병원에서 치료를 받고있는 화상 생존자와 그 가족을 수용 할 시설을 짓는 것을 도왔습니다. Hurley는 "사람들을 돕고 변화를 만들기 위해 노력해야한다는 필요성이 항상 저에게 전달되었습니다. 소방은 저에게 그렇게 할 수있는 길을주었습니다."라고 말합니다.

더 친절하고 온화한 도시라는 것은 버나비의 노숙자에 대해 뭔가를하는 것을 포함합니다. 그는 첫 번째 대응 자로서 노숙자들을 자주 만났습니다. 그들 중 일부는 땅에 얼어 붙은 공원에 있습니다. "모든 문제를 해결할 수는 없지만 인간으로서 이러한 요구 사항 중 일부를 충족하기 위해 노력해야합니다. 내가 더 친절하고 온화하다고 말할 때 그것이 의미하는 바입니다."라고 Hurley는 말합니다.

헐리에 따르면 친절하고 온화한 도시는 또한 "주민의 말을 더 많이 듣는 것"을 의미합니다. 예를 들어, 주택에 관한 시장의 태스크 포스는 그들이 지금까지 한 것 중 가장 중요한 지역 사회 봉사 활동이었습니다. Hurley는 삶의 모든 단계에서 주민들의 요구를 충족시키는 주택 공급에 대한 상당한 수요를 보았습니다. "우리는 올바른 방향으로 방향을 잡는 훌륭한 일을하고 있습니다. Covid에 의해 속도가 느려졌지만 우리는 그 전선에서 상당한 진전을 이루고 있음을 알게 될 것입니다."

대유행이 시작된 지 10 개월이 지난 지금 헐리 시장은 시가 모퉁이를 돌렸기를 바라고 있습니다. 대유행이 시작되었을 때시는 골프 코스와 수영장 수영 강습과 같이 그들이 운영하는 시설을 폐쇄했습니다. 시는 매월 5 백만 달러의 수익을 잃고있었습니다. 그들은 재정적 폭풍을 견딜 수 있도록 운영 흑자를 이동했습니다. 시는 연방 및 주정부로부터 9 백만 달러를 받아 도움을 받았습니다.

시는 비상 운영 센터를 설치했습니다. 처음 4 개월 동안 그들은 일주일에 7 일 매일 아침 만났습니다. 그들은 여전히 일주일에 두 번 만나고 있습니다. 그들은 사물이 어디로 향하고 있는지 상상하려고 노력하여 필요한 조정을 할 수 있습니다.

"버나비에서는 우리 도시에 많은 그릿이 있습니다. 저는 우리가 다른 쪽에서 더 강 해져서 앞으로 나아갈 때 다음 도전에 대비할 준비가되어 있다는 것을 알고 있습니다." 시장이 말했습니다. "나는 우리가 '좋아, 정규 프로그램으로 돌아 가자'라고 말할 수있는 날을 고대하고있다고 했습니다.

시장이 추구하는 정규 프로그램 중 일부는 새로운 교통 계획입니다. 그것은 기후 변화에 대한시의 계획과 연계 될 것입니다. 그는 사람들에게 첫 번째 옵션이 차에 뛰어 들지 않는 도시 주변을 이동할 수있는 다양한 옵션을 제공하고자합니다. 그는 "도시 마을"이라고 부르는 조밀 한 커뮤니티를 구축하고자합니다. 사람들이 산책하고 자전거를 타고 안전하게 쇼핑 할 수있는 곳. "이것들이 우리의 다음 단계입니다. 그렇게 많은 고층 건물이 아니라 저층 건물과 연립 주택입니다."

시장은 Covid-19로 인해 사람들이 작은 아파트에 사는 것을 재고하게 만들었다 고 생각합니다. 또한 사람들이 우리 공원과 열린 공간을 높이 평가하고 그들이 우리 삶의 질에 어떻게 기여하는지 알게합니다. "우리 공원이 없었다면 사람들은 무엇을했을까요?"

영화 산업 성장 계획과 같은 다른 기회가 있습니다. "Hollywood North"의 모든 영화 활동의 60 %가 버나비에서 이루어집니다. 아마도 Michale J Fox와 Michael Buble과 같은 메가 스타가 Burnaby Central High School 졸업생이 될 것입니다. 시장에 따르면 공항과의 거리도 도움이된다고합니다. 뉴욕시에있는 대형 영화 스튜디오에서 그는 많은 성장 잠재력을보고 있습니다.

시의 가장 큰 도전은 소규모 사업체를 정상화하는 것입니다. 그들에게는 힘든시기였습니다. 그들을 생존력있게 유지하고 그들이 다시 일 어설 수 있도록 최선을 다합니다.

긍정적 인 점에서 Hurley는시의 개발 속도가 느려지지 않았습니다. 건축 허가는 여전히 강력합니다. 그들의 건축 및 기획 부서는 그 어느 때보 다 바쁩니다. 그것은 개발자가 그것을 실현하는 방법의 문제입니다. 그는 버나비에서 견고하게 남아있는 것을 봅니다.

Hurley 시장은 Burnaby의 중국인 커뮤니티에서 노인들과 많은 시간을 보냅니다. 그는 기타를 들고 그들과 함께 몇 곡의 노래를 부릅니다. "그들은 정말 좋은 킥을 얻습니다"라고 그는 말합니다.

그는 진지한 음악가였으며 음악을 연주하며 전 세계를 여행했습니다. 어렸을 때 그는 로큰롤 스타가되는 꿈을 꾸었습니다. 그는베이스 기타와 피아노를 연주합니다. 아마도 그는 버나비의 캐나다 한인 커뮤니티로부터 노래를 부르고 음악을 연주하도록 초대받을 것입니다.

그는 버나비에서 한국 재향 군인들과 함께 일하는 것을 즐깁니다. 헐리 시장은 알아야 할 것이 많기 때문에 조언과 지원에 대해 한인 커뮤니티에 감사를 표하고 싶습니다. 그는 코리아 데일리 독자들의 의견을 듣고 싶다고 했습니다. 그것이 그가 사람들의 필요가 무엇인지 배울 수있는 방법입니다. 그의 이메일 주소는 Mayor@Burnaby.ca입니다.

Mayor Mike Hurley:  Creating a kinder gentler City of Burnaby.

Mayor Mike Hurley ran for Mayor because he wanted to see a kinder, gentler city.  He ran as an independent and beat out a long-term incumbent.  He did not follow a typical politician's path.

He was a firefighter for 30 years in Burnaby before entering politics.  The firefighting community was the backbone of his campaign to become the Mayor.  He feels his experience as a first responder prepared him to respond to the crisis when the pandemic hit.  "You learn to move back and rethink how you are doing things and make necessary adjustments to help the community," says Hurley.

Hurley became a firefighter because he enjoyed being able to make a difference in people's lives.  When he was the President of Burnaby Firefighter society, he helped start a food program for kids going to school hungry every day.  The Society provides food to twenty-six schools around Burnaby now, including high schools and youth centres.

As President of the Firefighters' Burn Fund, he helped build a facility to house burn survivors and their families receiving treatment at the Vancouver General Hospital.   Hurley says, "Those things always spoke to me—the need to help people and try to make a difference.   Firefighting gave me an avenue to do that."

Being a kinder, gentler City included doing something about the homeless in Burnaby.   He encountered homeless people often as a first responder.  Some of them in the parks, frozen to the ground.  "You will never solve all the problems, but you have to make an effort to try to meet some of those needs as a human being. When I speak of kinder, gentler, that's what I mean," says Hurley.

Kinder and gentler City also means "more listening to residents," according to Hurley. The Mayor’s Task Force on Housing, for example, was the most significant community outreach they've ever done.  Hurley saw a substantial demand for a housing supply that meets residents' needs in all stages of life.  "We are doing a great job of steering that in the right direction.   You will see, though slowed down by Covid, we are making some significant inroads in that front."

Ten months into the pandemic, Mayor Hurley is hoping the City has turned the corner.   When the pandemic started, the City shut down facilities they run, like golf courses and swimming classes at the pool.   The City was losing $5 million a month in revenue.  They moved operating surpluses around so they could withstand the financial storm.  The City received $9 million from the federal and provincial governments, which helped.  

The City set up an Emergency Operation Centre.  In the first four months, they met every morning, seven days a week. They are still meeting twice a week.  They try to envision where things are heading, so they can make the necessary adjustments.   

"In Burnaby, there is a lot of grit in our City. I know we will come out of this stronger on the other side and ready for the next challenges as we move forward." says the Mayor.  "I'm looking forward to the day we can say, 'ok, let's get back to regular programming,' says Hurley with confidence.

Some of the regular programming the Mayor is pursuing is a new Transportation Plan. It will tie in with the City's plans around climate change. He wants to give people different options to move around the City, where the first option is not jumping into the car.  He wants to build compact communities, which he calls "urban villages."   Where people can go for walks, ride bikes and shop safely. "These are our next steps. Not so much high rises but low rises and row houses."

The Mayor feels that the Covid-19 has caused people to rethink living in small apartments. It's also made people appreciate our parks and open spaces and how they contribute to our quality of life.  "What would people have done without our parks?"

There are other opportunities, like the plans to grow the movie industry.  60% of all film activity in "Hollywood North" takes place in Burnaby.    Perhaps the mega-stars like Michale J Fox and Michael Buble being the Burnaby Central High School alumni are the thing.  Proximity to the Airport helps too, according to the Mayor.  With large movie studios in the City, he sees much growth potential.   

The biggest challenge for the City will be getting the small businesses back on track. It's been a difficult period for them.  Keeping them viable and doing all we can to ensure that they can get back on their feet. 

On a positive note, Hurley has seen no slow down in developments in the City.  The building permits have remained strong.   Their building and planning departments are as busy as they've ever been.  It's a matter of how the developers will make it happen.  He sees it remaining solid in Burnaby.  

Mayor Hurley spends a lot of time with the seniors in the Chinese community in Burnaby.   He brings along his guitar and sings a couple of songs with them, and "they get a real good kick out of that," he says.

He's been a serious musician and travelled around the world playing music.  When he was younger, he dreamed of being a Rock and Roll star.  He plays the bass guitar and the piano.  Perhaps, he will get invites from the Korean Canadian community in Burnaby to sing and play the music.  

He enjoys working with the Korean veterans in Burnaby. Mayor Hurley wants to thank the Korean community for the advice and support because he has a lot to know.  He wants to hear from the readers of the Korea Daily.  That's how he can learn what the people's needs are.  His email address is Mayor@Burnaby.ca.