Councillor Louie throws in his hat

published by Asianpost on Thu, 03/20/2008 - 12:03

Mata Press Service

Raymond Louie

An aspiring mayoralty candidate of Chinese descent is following in the footsteps of leading American Presidential candidate Barack Obama, who aims to become the first black president of the United States.

City Councillor Raymond Louie has announced his campaign to become Vancouver’s first Chinese mayor, banking on the growing block of Asian voters, which currently represents 35 per cent of the city’s population.

Louie’s entry into the mayoral arena has been described as a first step in generating a wave of pride and hope among Asian-Canadians, particularly within the Chinese community.

Louie’s political path might be likened to that of Obama, who climbed the ladder of success through perseverance and hard work. Louie was born and raised in East Vancouver where he worked in his family’s bakery business and now lives with his wife Tonya and their three young children.

The Councillor has been an outspoken proponent of easing the tax burden on homeowners, so as to make Vancouver affordable for families and seniors. As a young father, he has been an articulate champion for increasing child-care services in Vancouver, and as an avid cyclist, understands the need to make our city more accessible for bikes and pedestrians. Raymond previously served a term as both a Translink and GVRD director.

Louie’s announcement makes him the third Vision candidate in the Nov. 15, 2008 competition for the mayor’s chair.

Other Vision-aries in the race include businessman and current NDP MLA (Vancouver-Fairview) Gregor Robertson, and former Non-Partisan Association member, Allan DeGenova.