Cumberland council member Vickey Brown is running for mayor.
After seven years in local government and more than two decades serving the community with “effective, passionate, and collaborative non-profit leadership,” Brown feels she is ready to lead the village as mayor.
“Cumberland has always stood apart as an independent self-driven community, leading in innovation and community collaboration. This is a critical time in our development; how our community deals with growth and a changing economy, in the context of climate change, will have a huge impact on current and future residents. Cumberland deserves to have leadership that can express the values of our community in our work as a municipality.”
Prior to serving as councillor, Brown served a four-year term as school board trustee from 2014 to 2018 and sat on Cumberland’s Advisory Planning Commission as chair for several years. She is passionate about farmers’ markets and local food, and was elected to the board of the BC Association of Farmer’s Markets in 2016, becoming president in 2018, after many years as executive director of the Comox Valley Farmers’ Market.
Currently, she sits on the CV Food Policy council, the Vancouver Island Library board (elected to the executive this year) and Cumberland’s Accessibility and Inclusion Committee. She has also enjoyed working with the Comox Valley Substance Use Strategy working group and committee for the past two years. Along with her role on the board of the Community Justice Centre, she has also recently been appointed to the provincial panel reviewing the police act.
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With deep roots in the village, Brown is a fourth-generation Cumberlander. Both her maternal and paternal great, great grandparents lived in Cumberland. Her paternal grandfather was a fire boss in the mines and fought for equal pay for Chinese workers. Her mother and father grew up in Union Bay and Royston respectively, but Brown was raised by her mom in the Lower Mainland, spending school vacations here in the valley. Her father, Harvey Brown, owned the Waverley Hotel for 26 years and served two terms on council before being elected mayor, while Shannon Brown, her stepmother, sat on the regional health board and the Cumberland Chamber of Commerce.
“I have always seen the gem that this village is, and the grit, talent and tenacity of our residents,” Brown says.
She is keen to enlist the participation of residents, whether it’s through committee input, or a quick chat on the trails or on the street, and encourages anyone interested in anything Cumberland to reach out. Email her at vickeyleabrown@gmail.com