Sam Sullivan

Sam Sullivan

Sam Sullivan CM (* 1960 ) was Mayor of Vancouver , Canada from November 2005 to November 15, 2008 . He is a member of the Non-Partisan Association (NPA). He has been quadriplegic and dependent on a wheelchair since a skiing accident in 1979 .

Sullivan graduated from Simon Fraser University with a degree in business administration and founded six charitable organizations serving the disabled. In 1993 he was elected to the Vancouver City Council. In the preliminary rounds for the 2005 mayoral election, Sullivan prevailed against numerous prominent candidates, including Christy Clark , the former Vice Prime Minister of British Columbia . In the elections on November 19, 2005, he won against Jim Green , the candidate from Vision Vancouver ; with around 130,000 votes cast, Sullivan had a narrow lead of 3,747 votes.

Sullivan achieved international fame at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin . The ceremony requires a representative from the nearest host city to receive the Olympic flag and wave it back and forth eight times. Sullivan had the flag attached to his wheelchair instead, held the flag in one hand, and moved the wheelchair back and forth eight times. He did the same during the closing ceremony of the 2006 Winter Paralympics .

Before the 2008 city council elections, Sullivan failed in the party electoral process and was not nominated as a candidate for mayor.

Web links

• Sam Sullivan's website