Jim Green (May 25, 1943 – February 28, 2012) was an American-Canadian who was a

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number ...

taxicab A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choi ...

driver, community activist, non-profit housing developer, municipal

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

, university instructor and development consultant.

Early life and education

Born in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = " Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,7 ...

, Green moved to Canada to avoid being drafted for the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

. Green held a Masters in

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

from the

University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks among the top thr ...

, a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

from the University of South Carolina,"Who are the judges?"
, ''Vancouver City Planning Commission Alternative Futures website'', Accessed September 23, 2009. and studied at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

, the Millennium Film Institute in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

."Jim Green, The Tyee Interview"
''

The Tyee The Tyee is an independent online daily news source primarily based in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in November 2003 as an alternative to "corporate media". Articles in The Tyee focus on politics, culture, and life. The Tyee was f ...

'', November 17, 2005.

Career

Early in his career, Green worked as a

and a

driver."Downtown Eastsider brings varied experience to new position on the islands"
, '' Queen Charlotte Observer'', July 16, 2008. Green was an advocate for the city's

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homele ...

and led the development of many

housing projects Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is usually owned by a government authority, either central or local. Although the common goal of public housing is to provide affordable housing, the details, terminology, d ...

, including the experimental Woodward's building redevelopment designed by architect

Gregory Henriquez Gregory Henriquez (born 1963) is a Canadian architect who has designed community-based mixed-use projects in Vancouver, Toronto and Seattle. He is the managing principal of Vancouver-based Henriquez Partners Architects, founded in 1969 by his fat ...

He was a development consultant for developers and non-profit community groups."Jim Green"
, '' BC Business'', November 4, 2008. In 2009 he left his role as CEO of the Misty Isles Economic Development Society to take a position working with Millennium Developments Ltd. on the

2010 Olympic Village ''For the location of the Olympic Village in Singapore, see Nanyang Technological University or '' 2010 Summer Youth Olympics#Youth Olympic Village'' The Vancouver Olympic Village (VVL), is an Olympic Village built by Millennium Development Gro ...

development in Vancouver."MIEDS chief executive gone"
, '' Queen Charlotte Observer'', January 26, 2009."Olympic Village builder hires Jim Green"
, ''

Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published s ...

'', January 26, 2009. Green taught

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

at the

and Anthropology at

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located ...

, and co-founded the University of British Columbia Urban Field School. Green was chair of Four Corners Community Savings, which was closed by the Gordon Campbell led BC Government. He served on the board of the

Federation of Canadian Municipalities The Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM, ''Fédération canadienne des municipalités'') is an advocacy group representing over 2000 Canadian municipalities. It is an organization with no formal power but significant ability to influence d ...

. Green co-founded the

Portland Hotel Society Portland Hotel Society (PHS) is a Canadian non-profit society created in 1993 to provide advocacy, housing, services, and opportunities, for Vancouver's Downtown Eastside. Its 451 staff support 1,153 rooms, North America's first legal supervised-inj ...

which operates

Insite Insite is the first legal supervised drug injection site in North America, located at 139 East Hastings Street, in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) neighbourhood of Vancouver, British Columbia. The DTES had 4700 chronic drug users in 2000 and ha ...

, the first legal

safe injection site Supervised injection sites (SIS) are medically supervised facilities designed to provide a hygienic environment in which people are able to consume illicit recreational drugs intravenously and prevent deaths due to drug overdoses. The legality o ...

in North America."Jim Green: The democratic solution"
, ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', April 9, 2009.

Political career

In 2002 he was elected to

Vancouver City Council Vancouver City Council is the governing body of Vancouver, British Columbia. The council consists of a mayor and ten councillors elected to serve a four-year term. Monthly, a deputy mayor is appointed from among the councillors. The current mayo ...

as a member of the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE),"2002 Election Results"
''

City of Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

archives'', Accessed September 23, 2009. and subsequently, with mayor Larry Campbell, councillor

Raymond Louie Raymond Louie (; born January 16, 1965) is a Canadian politician. He is a five-term Vancouver City Councillor. Formerly a member of Coalition of Progressive Electors civic party, Louie broke away and was re-elected in 2005, and again in 2008, ...

, and councillor

Tim Stevenson Tim Stevenson (born 1945) is a Canadian politician and United Church minister. He served as councillor on the Vancouver City Council, 2002 to 2018 as a member of Vision Vancouver. He was a founding member of Vision Vancouver. Background Ste ...

left to form a new party,

Vision Vancouver Vision Vancouver is a green liberal municipal political party in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Vision was formed in the months leading up to the 2005 municipal election. Formation Vision was founded by former Coalition of Progressiv ...

. Under the Vision Vancouver banner, he unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2005, losing to

Sam Sullivan Sam Sullivan (born November 13, 1959) is a Canadian politician who had served as the MLA for Vancouver-False Creek. Previously, he served as the Minister of Communities, Sport and Cultural Development with responsibility for Translink in the ...

"News What's Next for Jim Green and Vancouver's Civic Left"
''

'', December 5, 2005. by 3,747 votes."Election Summary Report: November 19, 2005"
''

archives'', Accessed September 23, 2009. Some blamed voter confusion for his loss,"Almost famous"
, ''

Vancouver Courier The ''Vancouver Courier'' was a Canadian semi-weekly local newspaper published in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, by the Van-Net chain owned by Glacier Media Group. In 2007, it was Canada's largest distributed community newspaper, with a we ...

'', November 27, 2005. as there was an unknown candidate named "James Green" who received 4,273 votes. It was the second time Green had run for mayor unsuccessfully, having been beaten as a member of

COPE The cope (known in Latin as ''pluviale'' 'rain coat' or ''cappa'' 'cape') is a liturgical vestment, more precisely a long mantle or cloak, open in front and fastened at the breast with a band or clasp. It may be of any liturgical colour. A c ...

by then- NPA mayor

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

in 1990. Six years later, Green again faced Campbell, this time in the 1996 provincial election for the MLA seat in

Vancouver-Point Grey Vancouver-Point Grey is a provincial electoral district (Canada), electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was first contested in the 1933 British Columbia general election, general election of 1933. It was ...

. Green, a New Democrat, was defeated by

BC Liberal The British Columbia Liberal Party, often shortened to the BC Liberals, is a centre-right provincial political party in British Columbia, Canada. The party currently forms the Official Opposition. Subsequent to the 2020 British Columbia general ...

leader and future premier Gordon Campbell 12,637 to 11,074."Statement of Votes Report for Electoral District: Vancouver-Point Grey"
''

Elections BC Elections BC (formally the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer of British Columbia) is a non-partisan office of the British Columbia legislature responsible for conducting provincial and local elections, by-elections, petitions, referendums, pl ...

website'', Accessed September 23, 2009. In 2008 Green supported Gregor Robertson in his successful run for mayor of Vancouver.

Death

In February 2012, his family released a brief statement saying he had suffered a serious recurrence of the

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

he had previously battled. At 06:15 PST on February 28, 2012, Green died following his battle with lung cancer.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Jim 1943 births 2012 deaths American emigrants to Canada Canadian schoolteachers Deaths from cancer in British Columbia Deaths from lung cancer Vietnam War draft evaders Politicians from Birmingham, Alabama Simon Fraser University faculty University of British Columbia alumni University of British Columbia faculty University of Colorado alumni University of Paris alumni University of South Carolina alumni Coalition of Progressive Electors councillors Vision Vancouver councillors American expatriates in France