I have a blend of experience in elected office, community service, work and schooling that uniquely qualifies me to be your next mayor. You’ll also meet several generations of my family, including some of the earliest settlers of our community….
I have deep roots in this community
Have you ever wondered where a lot of City street names came from? Some of my distant relatives owned Lonsdale Estates, a developer that set up in North Vancouver in the late 1800s. In addition to Lonsdale and Heywood, streets such as Cloverley, Calverhall, Shavington, Pemberton and Fell are names in the family or places near Liverpool in the UK where my family is from.
The first of my branch of the Heywood family immigrated to Canada in the 1920s and my father was the first Heywood to return to North Vancouver. I’ve lived in North Vancouver since 1970. I left after high school to go to university but returned soon after to raise my own family and have lived here ever since.
Elected Office & Community Service
I was elected as a Trustee and Chair of the North Vancouver School District for three terms that ended in 2001. I was elected to North Vancouver City Council in 2008 and again in 2011. I didn’t run for re-election in 2014. I ran unsuccessfully for Mayor in 2018.
In between my time on School Board and City Council, I served on the North Vancouver Recreation Commission, which provides recreation programming and manages all of the community recreation facilities located in the City and District.
I’ve also been involved in a wide range of non-profit community organizations. I was an early volunteer and director at the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. I’ve been on the boards of the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce, the North Vancouver Arts Council and North Shore Neighbourhood House, where I have volunteered to prepare tax returns for low-income residents for the past three years.
In 2018 I received one of 20 Canada 150 Community Recognition Awards presented to North Shore residents recognized for their “significant and sustained dedication to making North Vancouver a better place to live.”
Work
My experience in business prepares me well to be the mayor of the City of North Vancouver. An understanding of banking, accounting and company management will help me in trying to get a fair deal for the City’s taxpayers.
I have been employed at three major banks in management, currency trading and corporate lending. I was VP, Finance and Treasurer of a large public company and have been involved in two startup ventures. I now work as a consultant to companies needing help with their banking and financing requirements.
Education
After attending Sutherland (then a junior secondary) and graduating from Argyle Secondary (1976) I went to UBC for two years before moving to Kingston, Ontario to finish a Bachelors in Political Studies at Queen’s University. I started the Masters program in Political Science at Carleton, was a union organizer for CUPE and part of the team that negotiated the first contract for graduate teaching assistants. Tried (unsuccessfully, we didn’t have trucks) to demonstrate on Parliament Hill and then moved back to BC without completing my thesis. After working for several years I spent a year at the Sauder School of Business at UBC and finished a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) As a mature student I earned my Certified General Accountant (CGA) designation, now known as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA.)
Family
I’ve lived in North Vancouver since 1970. I raised my family here. My wife Christene and I live in Lower Lonsdale.
My father, former Councillor Bob Heywood, was CO of the North Van RCMP detachment and well known in the community for his work with the North Vancouver Museum and Archives. His wife Peggy volunteered for the North Vancouver Community Arts Council and is a successful artist (margaretheywood.ca). They lived on Victoria Park for over twenty years before moving to Penticton earlier this year.