About David

David Cadman has served for six years as a Vancouver city councillor with COPE, the Coalition of Progressive Electors. He represented Vancouver on the Greater Vancouver Regional District and Metro Vancouver board of directors, serving on both the Land Use and Transportation; and Environment and Energy committees.

From 2002 to 2005, he was elected to the Translink board of directors where he chaired the finance committee. He was nominated by the GVRD to serve on and was internationally elected as one of three North Americans to serve on the executive committee of the International Council for Local Environmental initiatives (ICLEI): local governments for sustainability. In his first three year term, he served as International Vice-President and was elected International President in his second term, where he represents local authorities to the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development.

He also represents Vancouver as a board member of the United Nations-initiated International Association of Peace Messenger Cities. Prior to being elected to Vancouver city council, he was president of SPEC, the society promoting environmental conservation and chairperson of both the British Columbian and Canadian environmental networks. For 19 years prior to that, he was the GVRD's administrator of communications and education and served as the president of both the United Nations Association of Canada (and the Vancouver branch) and on the board of directors of the World Federation of United Nations Associations.

Earlier, David worked with the social planning and research council, SPARC, and the universities of BC, Victoria and Simon Fraser to establish the Provincial Institute for Community Service Organizations. After finishing highschool in Ontario, he did undergraduate studies at the University of the South in Tennessee, followed by graduate studies at the Institute for Higher Studies of the University of Geneva, Switzerland, and the Sorbonne in Paris, France. Following studies, David worked for four years establishing literacy programs in Tanzania and Kenya and reviewed projects throughout Southern Africa while consulting for OXFAM. In 1986, he served as the Deputy Commissioner General of the United Nations pavillion at Expo 86 and was the recipient of the United Nations Peace Medal presented by the Secretary General of the UN. He later received the UN's 50th anniversary medal. David and his partner, Marisa and their son, Darcy, have lived in Grandview-Woodlands, just off Commercial Drive, since 1981.