Jack J. Volrich (February 27, 1928 – May 31, 2010) was born in Anyox, British Columbia and was the 33rd mayor of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, Canada from 1977 to 1980. Prior to this, he practised law and served as an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

on the

Vancouver City Council Vancouver City Council is the governing body of Vancouver, British Columbia. The council consists of a mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city ...

. He started his political career with the municipal political party,

TEAM A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to in ...

. However, he left TEAM during his first term as mayor and ran successfully as an independent with the endorsement of the more conservative NPA (Non-Partisan Association) in the 1978 election. He was defeated in an upset in 1980 by

Michael Harcourt Michael Franklin Harcourt OC (born January 6, 1943) is a Canadian lawyer and politician who served as the 30th premier of British Columbia from 1991 to 1996, and before that as the 34th mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia's largest city, from ...

. Harcourt was a fellow former TEAM member who would go on to become

premier of British Columbia The premier of British Columbia is the first minister and head of government for the Canadian province of British Columbia. Until the early 1970s, the title ''prime minister of British Columbia'' was often used. The word ''premier'' is derived ...

. Important issues during Volrich's tenure as mayor included the proposed construction of a trade and convention centre and the debate over the

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

system method of electing aldermen to city council. Volrich resumed practising law, but returned to the political world when he ran unsuccessfully as a Progressive Conservative Party candidate for

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

in the electoral district of

Vancouver East Vancouver East () is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1935. Since 2015, it has been represented by New Democratic Party MP Jenny Kwan. Vancouver East ...

in the 1984 election. In 1992–1993, he was an organizer for and supporter of David Varty, a candidate for the federal

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

nomination in the electoral district of

Vancouver Centre Vancouver Centre () is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1917. It includes the neighbourhoods of downtown Vancouver, the West End, Yaletown, False Creek ...

References

1928 births 2010 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in British Columbia Candidates in the 1984 Canadian federal election Deaths from kidney failure Mayors of Vancouver People from the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine Progressive Conservative Party of Canada candidates for the Canadian House of Commons {{BritishColumbia-mayor-stub