Tim Stevenson

This article is about the Canadian politician and United Church minister. For the businessman and Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, see Tim Stevenson (Lord Lieutenant).
The Reverend
Tim Stevenson
MLA for Vancouver-Burrard
In office
1996–2001
Preceded by Emery Barnes
Succeeded by Lorne Mayencourt
Vancouver City Councillor
Assumed office
2002
Personal details
Born 1945
West Vancouver
Political party New Democratic
Vision Vancouver
Spouse(s) Gary Paterson
Residence Vancouver, British Columbia
Occupation Minister
Religion United Church of Canada

Tim Stevenson (born in Vancouver, British Columbia) is a Canadian politician and United Church minister. He is currently an elected member of the Vancouver City Council as a member of Vision Vancouver. He was a founding member of Vision Vancouver. He is an openly gay City Councillor.

Background

Stevenson received a B.A. from the University of British Columbia, a M.A., Spirituality from Holy Names College in Oakland, California where he studied with Matthew Fox and a M.Div from the Vancouver School of Theology. In 1992 he was ordained by the British Columbia Conference of the United Church of Canada. Stevenson was the first openly gay person to be ordained in Canada . In 1993 he began his ministry at St. Paul's United Church in Burnaby, He also served as a board member at the First United Church in the Downtown Eastside for 10 years.

Stevenson has worked in the Philippines and South Africa. In 1991 he was a Canadian representative at the African National Congress Conference in Durban when Nelson Mandela was elected ANC party president. In 1994 he was an International Observer in South Africa's first election after the fall of apartheid. Also in South Africa he has worked with the Black Liberation Gay and Lesbian Movement and other organizations that focus on social injustices.

Political career

In the 1996 Provincial election he was elected in Vancouver-Burrard to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party. He was the first openly gay M.L.A. elected in British Columbia. He served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Health as well as the Deputy Speaker of the House. Between 2000-2001 he held a Cabinet position as Minister for Employment and Investment. He was the first openly gay Cabinet Minister (either Provincial or Federal)in Canada. Cabinet Minister in Canada. He lost his Provincial seat in 2001 to the B.C. Liberals.

In 2002 he was elected to the Vancouver City Council in British Columbia. As a member of the City Council and board member of Tourism Vancouver, he is known for modernizing Vancouver's entertainment and tourism industry. When gay marriage became legalized in British Columbia, Tim Stevenson performed the first legal gay weddings in the Province. In 2014 Stevenson represented the City of Vancouver as Deputy Mayor at the Sochi Olympics. He met with the President's Office of the International Olympics Committee urging them to add "sexual orientation" to the Olympic Charter. They subsequently did so.

Stevenson was a candidate in the 2005 B.C. Provincial Election, again in Vancouver-Burrard. Conflicting results throughout election night had both Stevenson and Mayencourt declared the victor at different times, and the uncertainty continued for several weeks. In the official count of regular ballots, Stevenson was declared the winner by 17 votes. However, when absentee ballots were counted on May 30, 2005, Mayencourt was declared the winner by a margin of 18 votes. After a judicial recount, Mayencourt was declared the victor by 11 votes.

Stevenson won re-election as a City Councillor in the 2005 Vancouver municipal election as a member of Vision Vancouver, and again in the 2008 election[1] and the 2011 election.

Personal

Stevenson's spouse for 34 years has been Gary Paterson, another minister and former Moderator of the United Church of Canada.[2] Same sex marriage in Canada is legal, and Stevenson and Paterson were legally married in 2004.

Electoral record

British Columbia general election, 1996: Vancouver-Burrard
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
New DemocraticTim Stevenson 10,646 49.70% −1.23 $43,534
LiberalDuncan Wilson 7,975 37.23% +2.00 $50,880
Progressive DemocratLaura McDiarmid 1,014 4.73% – $1,072
GreenImtiaz Popat 563 2.63% +0.32 $155
ReformAletta Buday 671 3.13% – $100
LibertarianJohn Clarke 458 2.14% –
Natural LawWayne A. Melvin 93 0.43% – $100
Total valid votes 21,420 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 257 1.19%
Turnout 21,677 62.68%
British Columbia general election, 2001: Vancouver-Burrard
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalLorne Mayencourt 11,396 48.11% +10.88 $46,939
New DemocraticTim Stevenson 7,359 31.07% −18.63 $45,493
GreenRobbie Mattu 3,826 16.15% +13.52 $1,029
MarijuanaMarc Emery 906 3.82% – $394
UnityGregory Paul Michael Hartnell 290 1.15% – –
IndependentBoris Bear 136 0.57% – $157
People's FrontJoseph Theriault 40 0.17% – $57
Independent RhinocerosHelvis 25 0.11% – $100
Total valid votes 23,688 100.00%
Total rejected ballots 123 0.52%
Turnout 23,811 63.67%
British Columbia general election, 2005: Vancouver-Burrard
Party Candidate Votes%∆%Expenditures
LiberalLorne Mayencourt 12,009 42.16% −5.94 $161,227
New DemocraticTim Stevenson 11,998 42.12% +11.04 $67,587
GreenJanek Patrick John Kuchmistrz 3,698 12.98% −3.21 $8,237
LibertarianJohn Clarke 388 1.36% – $100
Work LessLisa Voldeng 170 0.60% – $1,855
SexJohn Gordon Ince 111 0.39% – $100
Democratic ReformIan McLeod 82 0.29% – $400
PlatinumAntonio Francisco Ferreira 27 0.09% – $100
Total Valid Votes 28,483100%
Total Rejected Ballots 1960.69%
Turnout 28,67951.95%

References

  1. ↑ "Election summary", City of Vancouver archives, Accessed September 24, 2009.
  2. ↑ "Vancouver reverend elected United Church of Canada's first openly gay moderator". Ottawa Citizen. August 20, 2012. Retrieved 2014-05-22.
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