Vancouver School Board chair leaves ABC party, goes independent

The chair of the Vancouver School Board says she is leaving Mayor Ken Sim's A Better City civic party and will sit as an independent trustee.

Victoria Jung posted a statement announcing her resignation from the party on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday morning. She wrote, "Recent events questioning the office of the Vancouver Integrity Commissioner have given me pause to reflect on my core values."

"The trust of the people of Vancouver placed in me during the 2022 municipal election is not taken lightly. And while differences do indeed come and go for elected officials, the imperative to serve in the public interest — versus private interest — is one that is non-negotiable," the statement read.

"And so, at this juncture, I feel I need to make a change and serve as an independent school trustee. What is not changing is my commitment to the principles that brought me to the ballot."

Jung committed to continuing as a trustee and board chair in the statement and thanked Vancouverites "for placing this trust in me."

When reached via direct message on X, Jung declined an interview request but confirmed the statement was hers.

The mayor's office declined to comment and directed inquiries to the party. ABC Vancouver acknowledged the resignation in a statement to CBC News, while thanking Jung for her time with and contributions to the party.

Integrity commissioner controversy

The role of Vancouver's integrity commissioner has been in the spotlight in recent weeks. 

Councillors from the ABC majority have said a third-party review would clarify the commissioner's powers when handling complaints against elected officials. 

A special meeting on Tuesday was set to vote on a motion to review the commissioner's work, which, if it had passed, would have temporarily suspended the ethics watchdog's ongoing work.

The proposal drew concern from critics about oversight of elected officials and was deferred until September.

Two code-of-conduct complaints heard by the commissioner were released within the last week:  one alleged Mayor Sim unduly tried to interfere with park board decision-making, and the other alleged two park board commissioners contravened the city's code of conduct by recording and sharing phone calls involving staff from the mayor's office.

Both complaints were dismissed.

Jennifer Reddy, a school board trustee with OneCity, said the attempted suspension of the integrity commissioner has given her "a lot of concern" and "compromised trust."

She added that Jung's decision isn't surprising, and that their jobs don't change based on politics.

"Regardless of political affiliation for school trustees, our job really is to support kids and families, teachers and staff that live and work in our district," Reddy said in an interview with CBC's BC Today.  

Others have left party

The ABC slate won majorities on the city's council and park board and had the most trustees of any one party, four of nine, on the school board following the 2022 Vancouver civic elections. 

But nearly two years into the term, a number of elected officials have left the party.

Six of seven park board commissioners were elected under the ABC banner. Three left to sit as independents in 2023 following the mayor's announcement that he would seek to dissolve that elected body.

On the school board, five of nine elected trustees ran with ABC, including Jung. One of them lost the party's endorsement shortly before the election but still appeared on the ballot as belonging to the party because an Elections B.C. deadline had passed.

ABC officials still have eight of the 11 council votes, with seven councillors and Mayor Ken Sim belonging to the party.

The Vancouver School Board is the elected body for School District 39. It is B.C.'s second-largest school district by enrolment, with over 50,000 students.