Shervin Shahriari to run for City of North Vancouver Council

Shervin Shahriari has announced his candidacy for North Vancouver City Council. Shahriari is a Langara faculty lecturer, former senior manager of TransLink, and former City Library Board Chair.

In 1984, Albert, a kind stranger from North Vancouver helped Shervin, then a struggling teenager and newcomer, secure a life-changing college admission and a first job.  The two met when Albert gave the hitch-hiking Shervin a lift during that year’s summer long bus strike.

Shervin has not forgotten Albert’s kindness and has been a committed member of the North Vancouver community ever since. “I feel a deep sense of gratitude for the help and opportunities I’ve been given, and I have lived my life wanting to give something back in return and to make a positive difference in people’s lives,” says Shervin, who received his Bachelor of Science, and Executive MBA degrees from Simon Fraser University, and is currently a faculty lecturer at Langara School of Management.

Shervin was a youth employee of Family Services of the North Shore, mentoring teenagers, in the 90s. He served on the Board of the North Vancouver Museum and Archives Commission from 2002 to 2009, including two years as Chair.

He wrote a frequently-cited book, North Vancouver’s Lonsdale Neighbourhood, published in 2009.  He moved on to the North Vancouver City Library Board in 2011, on which he served for six years – the last five as Chair.  Earlier this year, he co-organized a Lions Gate Hospital Foundation fundraiser with the goal of increasing cultural safety for Indigenous elders and families, and by bringing Indigenous art to a North Vancouver long-term care facility.

“The top issue for the City of North Vancouver is housing affordability,” notes Shervin when asked about the main priority facing the community.

With his daughter, Noosha, having just graduated from Carson Graham Secondary, Shervin says that housing remains out of reach for young people and families who often have little choice but to relocate away from North Vancouver.

“Housing affordability is also making traffic congestion worse and is bad for the local economy.  So many of the people who work here cannot afford to live here and end up in the intolerable rush hour traffic.  What we end up with is more traffic congestion and pollution.  Local businesses and government organizations face employee recruitment and retention challenges, as a result of limited affordable housing options,” he continues.

“By putting distances between people, the housing crisis, if unchecked, undermines the soul of our community.  I will push hard for practical affordable housing solutions for people who live here or work here,” notes Shervin.

In addition to housing affordability, Shervin, who is a former senior TransLink Planning Manager of Business Technologies, highlights several other issues that need to be addressed:  alleviating traffic congestion, increasing transit service, meeting growing demand for public spaces, and adapting to climate change challenges.  He will be releasing details of his platform on these issues in the weeks to come.