The Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»School Boards new media specialist starts work as planned Aug. 1 despite criticism about his ties to Vision Vancouver.
Kurt Heinrich, who volunteered for and worked with the political party for two years, was hired by the school district last week. Hes still a member of Vision Vancouver. He first told the Courier he would let his membership lapse because it was no longer appropriate. He then called the Courier saying he sent a note to cancel his membership and he wont belong to Vision when he starts his new job.
Heinrich is currently employed as an account manager with Peak Communicators, a firm thats done work for the VSB.
Superintendent Steve Cardwell, Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»school board chair Patti Bacchus and two other senior staff were on the VSBs hiring committee. The human resource department checks applicants references and qualifications, the committee provides feedback on candidates, and the superintendent makes the final decision.
NPA trustee Ken Denike describes Heinrich as a Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»political operative and argues his appointment is unacceptable.
Heinrich has targeted the NPA through Twitter, including one post June 3: @SuzanneAnton apparently doesnt much like the environment votes against retrofit prgm to cut energy costs. Why Suzanne, Why?! #NPAwkward.
Heinrich has since erased this tweet, along with other politically themed posts. He told the Courier Monday that hes focused on the job and not what other people are saying. He maintains his performance will speak for itself.
The tweets were from a previous position when I was not working at the VSB. Now that Im working at the VSB, Im going to be really focused on being completely non- partisan and doing my best to tell their stories, he said, while acknowledging he erased past Twitter entries. Its important moving forward that I appear and I am as non-partisan as the role requires me to be and Im going to be focused on doing that and part of it is just making sure that perception aligns with what Im doing.
Denike said hes discussed his concerns about Heinrichs appointment with Cardwell and plans to raise the issue with the Ministry of Education.
Denike was informed about the hire hours before it was announced, but said he wasnt told about Heinrichs relationship with Vision Vancouver.
If you consider the comptroller generals report, this counters what came out of that reportthat its all advocacy and no management. This is highly political. This is politicizing the board. The credibility of anything that comes out of it is going to be questioned.
Bacchus argues Denike shouldnt make public comments about VSB staff.
We have obligations to protect the reputation of our staff and if there are concerns about performance these are dealt with appropriately and confidentially, she said. It concerns me that anyone who may be considering applying for a position with the VSB is now going to be worried that they will be coming under attack for their previous whatever, for political purposes of elected officials and thats just inappropriate.
Bacchus insists the hiring process was transparent and she didnt make the final decision.
I did know Kurt before. I knew actually several of the candidates before, she said.
Bacchus said Heinrich disclosed his Vision connections, but she wasnt aware of his Twitter feed.
Bacchus said she thought Heinrichs ties to Vision might cause a problem from an optics point of view, but his qualifications and interview performance were strong, making him the front runner.
The decision to hire Heinrich raises questions about whether a job candidate who has allied himself with a political party can or should be appointed in a non-partisan publicly funded position.
Thats always a question, particularly in the field of communications and public relations and media and politics because there does seem to be some cross pollination that happens. Its been a question for journalists for communications, for political operatives since I was in that business 25 year ago, Bacchus said.
Cardwell also maintains the process was a completely open competition from start to finish and that of all the applicants, Heinrich was best suited to the challenges the district faces.
I was disappointed by Mr. Denikes approach. As a long time elected trustee, he should know better. I would have thought he might share his concerns about any matters concerning the operation of the school district directly with me rather than in the public through the media. I requested a meeting and subsequently met with Mr. Denike to discuss my concerns.
Bacchus said the controversy is a tough way to begin work.
I can understand why people would raise questions on more information thats come out but I think he will do the job. He will probably now be under scrutiny, of course, and it will be clear how he performs in the job whether or not hes appropriate for it, she said. .Were in an interesting time in the political cycle. Theres pressure on many people, but it is an unfortunate way to begin a job to have this kind of public debate about your qualifications. It puts a lot of pressure on him but I hope he uses that in a positive way.
Twitter: @Naoibh
