Two people from Vancouver’s business community have filed for the Vancouver City Council so far this week.
Neither Linda Glover nor George Francisco had previously announced they were running for office.
Linda Glover
Businesswoman and nonprofit executive Linda Glover announced Wednesday she is filing for Position 5, currently held by Councilor Larry Smith, who said he is not running for re-election.
“I want to be a part of building a government that finds a way to be balanced and strong by facing challenges head-on, working to find common ground, and building solutions that can unite our city and propel us even further ahead,” Glover said in a press release.
Also running for Position 5 is youth advocate Ty Stober, who announced his candidacy in March and formally filed for office Tuesday.
Glover, 66, is executive director of the nonprofit Gifts for Our Community, which includes multiple small enterprises that offer grants in human services, education and the arts. They include Divine Consign furniture resale shop, Divine Again upholstery business, Divine Bites gourmet cupcakes and b. divine clothing boutique.
Glover was named one of the Vancouver/Portland Metro Area’s 100 Most Powerful Women by the NW Women’s Journal in 2007. She received the Altrusa Service Award in 2008 and the Women of Achievement Award in 2010.
Glover has served on the boards of Vancouver’s Downtown Association, Learning Avenues Childcare Centers and the Fort Vancouver National Trust Board of Trustees. She also is a member of Friends of Hospice, the Task Force for Vancouver Arts Museum and the Clark County Chamber of Commerce.
Glover’s website: www.LindaGloverforVancouver.com. Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LindaGloverforVancouver.
A story about Stober ran in The Columbian on March 25. Stober’s website: www.votety.com. Facebook page: www.facebook.com/VoteTy. Twitter: @VoteTy.
George Francisco
Insurance company owner George Francisco filed Monday to run in November against incumbent Vancouver City Councilor Bill Turlay, who holds Position 6.
Francisco, 74, an eight-year resident of Vancouver, said he planned to be more visible in the community than Turlay. He feels the council is already working as a more cohesive group than ever before, “but I’ll serve as the last piece of the puzzle, so the city has the best representation possible,” he stated in a press release issued Wednesday.
His council goals include road repairs, speeding up emergency service response time and increasing recreational activities for everyone with the help of local businesses, he said.
Francisco, who owns Total Insurance by George, holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Phoenix, where he served as a professor of business and marketing for 19 years. Prior to that, he worked in sales for Kraft Foods.
He is a member of the Vancouver Rotary Club and was a member of the Vancouver City Charter Review Commission in 2014.
“I don’t think of myself as a politician,” he said in his press release. “I just like coming up with feasible answers, taking action and seeing results.”
Francisco’s website: GeorgeRCanDoIt.com.
A story about Turlay’s re-election bid appeared April 11 in The Columbian. His Facebook page is www.facebook.com/bill.turlay.
