Royce Pollard
For the Hawaii receiver, go to Royce Pollard (American football)
Royce Pollard | |
|---|---|
 Pollard at the 2008 Relay for Life in Vancouver | |
| 56th Mayor of Vancouver, Washington | |
| In office 1996–2009 | |
| Preceded by | Bruce Hagensen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1940 Burlington, Vermont |
Royce Pollard (b. 1940[1]) is the mayor of Vancouver, Washington, the fourth largest city in Washington state. After a career as a U.S. Army officer ending in the late 1980s, he served a seven-year stint on the City Council. He was first elected mayor in the mid-1990s, a position he has continued to hold in to the early 21st century.
Early history
A native of Burlington, Vermont, Pollard served in the U.S. Army beginning in 1961, including deployment during the Vietnam War; he is a member of the American Legion and the Vietnam Veterans of America. His final post was as Commander of the Vancouver Barracks, from which he retired in 1988. Subsequently, the Pollard family settled in Vancouver and he was elected to the City Council a year later in 1989. Pollard is married, and has two sons.[2]
As mayor
After serving for seven years on the City Council, Pollard was first elected mayor in January 1996. He has since served consecutive terms as mayor, and his current term expires in 2009. Cumulatively, he has held public office in the city for around 20 years,[3] shaping much of its development in the late 20th and early 21st centuries. His most notable exploits have been a major revival of Vancouver's once-dilapidated downtown core, shepherding the city's exponential growth, and championing a controversial project to replace the Interstate Bridge and expand the MAX Light Rail system in to Clark County.[4] In addition to mass transit, Pollard has long supported green modes of transportation such as walking and biking.[5]
Throughout his tenure, Mayor Pollard has been a promoter of the moniker of "America's Vancouver" for the city,[6] in order to differentiate it from the larger but younger city of Vancouver BC. The mayor has also been a staunch defender of Vancouver's independence from nearby Portland, Oregon. In a highly publicized gesture in 2005, he purchased and destroyed coffee mugs with Portland logos at Vancouver Starbucks after the company failed to remove them from stores.[7]
See also
Footnotes
- ^ Welcome to the 'Couv (2007) Willamette Week
- ^ Vancouver National Historic Reserve, nps.gov
- ^ cityofvancouver.us
- ^ Baker, Dean. "Mayor Calls For New I-5 Bridge, Light Rail Linkage". The Columbian.
- ^ Wager, Florence. "Royce Pollard: The Mayor Who Walks His Talk". Walk About Magazine.
- ^ Andrew Theen (August 13, 2008). "Vancouver Planning For Future Of Mill Property". OPB News.
- ^ Exploring "America's Vancouver" (2007) Seattle Times
References
- "Mayor & City Council". cityofvancouver.us. City of Vancouver, Washington.
- Vinh, Tan (August 2, 2007). "Exploring "America's Vancouver"". Seattle Times.
- Willamette Week editorial staff (March 21, 2007). "Welcome to the 'Couv". Willamette Week.
- "2006 Bi-State Metropolitan Forum speaker biographies". pdx.edu. Portland State University Institute of Portland Metropolitan Studies. March 16, 2006.
- "Champions of History — Royce Pollard" (PDF). nps.gov. Vancouver National Historic Reserve.