THE Richmond Community Coalition on Friday introduced its first four candidates who will run for Richmond City Council team in the municipal election in October 2018 and they included well-known South Asian activist Parm Bains.
The other three candidates are incumbent councillors Ken Johnston and Chak Au and new candidate Melissa Zhang.
“Thanks to the Richmond Community Coalition’s success in engaging residents during the 2014 election, the Coalition elected two Councillors. Working together, Ken and Chak were able to steer a divided city council to initiate an internal city spending review,” said Coalition President Rob Howard. “With a balanced team of experienced candidates and fresh ideas, a Coalition-led council will deliver a more open, transparent, and positive city council reflective of the tremendous potential of our multicultural city.”
Parm Bains said: “As a lifelong resident of Richmond, I’m tired of my friends moving out of Richmond. Tight-knit families and friends are being torn apart, and grandparents are driving across the region just to visit their children and grandchildren.”
He added: “I am committed to being part of a constructive, solution-oriented government that welcomes everyone to be a part of planning a great city made up of strong and vibrant communities.”
Born in Victoria, Parm’s family moved to Richmond when he was a year old. Parm has been serving British Columbia as a public service worker and an active member of the community at large for over 20 years. He has extensive work experience within the Government of British Columbia where he served for 14 years as a Media Relations Officer and a Public Affairs Officer in the Public Affairs Bureau and the Government Communications and Public Engagement Department.
Parm’s proactive approach towards identifying issues and fostering relationships between government and community allowed his outreach accomplishments to extend across several initiatives for education, business, seniors, at-risk youth and sports.
He continues to serve on a variety of boards representing academia and the social sector and also remains actively involved in Richmond’s sports community where he continues to volunteer his time towards a variety of coaching and mentorship roles.
Parm’s efforts have not gone unnoticed. In 2005, he received a Community Service Award from the Province of British Columbia, followed by a selection to BC’s Top 100 Influential Indo-Canadians by the Vancouver Sun Newspaper in 2008 and then a Premier’s Innovation Award for Organizational Excellence from the Province of British Columbia in 2011.
In 2010, he earned a Master of Arts degree in Professional Communications with a specialization in International and Intercultural Studies from Royal Roads University in Victoria.
Presently, Parm is an Applied Communications Instructor with the School of Business at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
He lives with his wife and two children in Richmond.
The Richmond Community Coalition said it is committed to making local government more efficient, more accountable and more responsible. The Coalition was established to increase voter turnout and encourage City Hall to engage local citizens more in government. Its Board of Directors and Governance Committee comprise a wide range of community activists, with long records of community service to Richmond.
