Tributes pour in following death of former Vancouver city councillor and political power broker May Brown

by Charlie Smith on March 2nd, 2019 at 1:45 PM

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May Brown was small in stature, but she was a local giant in federal Liberal politics, civic affairs, education, community service, and sports and recreation.

Her many friends (see below) are in mourning after she passed away just shy of her 100th birthday.

Brown was coach of the UBC women's field hockey team when she became discouraged by the state of Vancouver playing fields in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

That prompted her to run for park board, where she was elected in 1972 with The Electors Action Movement, then headed by mayor Art Phillips.

In 1976, Brown became a city councillor for two years with TEAM. The party reflected her inclusive, big-tent approach to politics, including Conservatives, Liberals, and New Democrats.

As a TEAM member, she ran for mayor in 1978, losing to former TEAM mayor Jack Volrich.

Brown returned to council in 1980, remaining in office until 1986, where she became a role model for many future women in politics with her even-handed, steady approach.

Her many admirers often praised her integrity as an elected official.

During her time on council, she became a mentor to a young Gordon Campbell leading up to his first mayoral win in 1986.

She also played a pivotal role in John Turner's return to federal politics in 1984, when he won the federal Liberal leadership race, became prime minister for a short period, and then was elected in Vancouver Quadra.

Brown helped many other politicians over the years, including Christy Clark when she made an ill-fated run for the NPA mayoral nomination in 2005. Brown also remained an active sportswoman long after most walk off the fields for a final time.

"When I hit 90, I thought maybe I shouldn't be on the ski slopes—not with all the snowboarders around," Brown quipped to Business in Vancouver writer Jerry Eberts in 2013.

A member of the B.C. Sports Hall of Fame, Brown was also a member of the Order of British Columbia and Order of Canada.

In many respects, Vancouver can be described as a federal Liberal town. Four of the six MPs are Liberal and both the NPA and Vision Vancouver each have a large number of federal Liberals in their ranks.

Brown is one of the people who laid this foundation in the wake of declining federal Liberal fortunes in Vancouver in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

One of those four Liberal MPs, Jody Wilson-Raybould, paid tribute to Brown over Twitter by describing her as an "icon" and "an incredible force of nature".