Henry Jiun-Hsien Yao, a former youth worker for the City Centre Community Association, says he will be running for city council this November.
While many other council candidates jockey for senior votes, Yao is hoping to play off of his experience working with youth.
He’s also aiming to privatize some municipal services and expand the scope of community organizations to find financial efficiencies.
Yao’s news release on Wednesday indicates he’s built “a large network of youth and young adult volunteers that are assisting with his campaign.”
Yao had participated in town hall meetings with the Richmond Community Coalition but has instead chosen an independent path, joining Alexa Loo and incumbent councillor Evelina Halsey-Brandt as three unofficially declared independent candidates.
He said the RCC took too long to submit a platform and his campaign group wanted more freedom to exert its own goals.
Yao said one of his main focuses will be on minimizing city government and wasteful spending and using more third parties, such as community organizations and local companies to accomplish goals within Richmond.
He said he can do this by promoting more municipal grants and contracts for such groups, which can then perform tasks he says the city has otherwise taken on ineffectively.
“I deeply appreciate how non-profits can turn a dollar into two dollars,” he said.
Yao also suggested using local companies to do the work of city workers. As an example, he suggested lessening the role of public utility workers.
“We can put a bid out into the community and let local companies do the landscaping. They can provide the same level of service — and perhaps better — with less financial burden for the city,” he said.
Expanding the use of community groups, who possess niche talents and skills “will indirectly maximize the tax revenue that’s collected by the City of Richmond and then reduce the financial burden,” said Yao, adding he hopes he can lower taxes over the four-year term.
He said, all too often, people he has worked with have wanted to do more but have faced too much bureaucratic red tape at Richmond City Hall.
“A lot of my colleagues are passionate youth workers,” said Yao, “but they face a lot of bureaucracy and limitations.”
Yao said “transparency” and “accountability” will be the main focus of his campaign.
He said he wants to “engage” the community and promote planning for the city that brings “sustainable prosperity.”
The 35 year-old said council summaries need to be more clearly written and publicized for regular citizens.
Yao was born in Taiwan and came to Richmond when he was 11. He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of B.C.
