Max Zahedi

A message from Max

North Vancouver has been my home for 38 years.

This is where I built my life, raised my family and became part of a community I deeply care about. Through my work in technology, public service, business and community organizations, I have learned the value of listening, working with others and following through.

I am running for mayor because I know this community, understand the pressures residents are facing and believe I have the experience to improve how the District works for them.

Why I am running

I have watched a necessary public project — the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant — grow from a reported $700 million estimate in 2013 to $3.86 billion in 2024, and I have watched residents struggle to get a straight answer about how that happened or what it means for their tax bill. That is not a failure of engineering. It is a failure of reporting, oversight and accountability, and those are things a mayor can actually change.

In my working life, a project that tripled its budget would have triggered a review, a written explanation and a change in how the next one was run. Residents deserve the same standard from the government closest to them.

But this campaign is not only about one plant. It is about property taxes people can plan around, housing that matches what the infrastructure can carry, streets that are not permanently under construction, a district prepared for wildfire and earthquake, and a municipal hall that answers the phone.

Background

My education is in both business and technology — an MBA in Global Management and a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science. That combination shapes how I approach public problems: understand the system, measure what it actually does, and report the result honestly even when it is not flattering.

Professionally I have worked in software engineering, owned and run businesses, managed operations, worked within government and regulatory environments, and consulted for other business owners. I have also spent years in community and cultural leadership across the North Shore.

My family lives here. My business life has been here. The trails, the creeks and the neighbourhood shops are not talking points to me — they are where I have spent the last four decades.

How I intend to work

• Listen before deciding, and say publicly what was heard.
• Publish the numbers, including the ones that are inconvenient.
• Set service standards and be measured against them.
• Treat residents as the people who pay for this, because they are.