Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore is eyeing the Metro Vancouver board chair's job after the position was vacated by Delta Mayor Lois Jackson last month.
Moore said he has been approached by several directors of the regional body who are encouraging him to throw his name in to the running ahead of a Dec. 16 vote.
"There are enough people asking me to do it that I am pursuing it," he said. "If it was only one or two people, I probably wouldn't move forward with it."
Moore, who has chaired the region's waste committee, said Metro Vancouver has adopted several strategic plans, including the Regional Growth Strategy and the solid and liquid waste strategy, and it will be up to the next chair to put those plans into effect. Moore said he has the experience to do the job.
"Metro is going really into an implementation phase," he said. "As chair, my job would be to make sure that we are on track."
If he is selected, Moore would also stand to gain financially. The next chair will earn $66,082 on top of their council salary, an amount equal to 75% of the average mayoral remuneration in the Metro region.
The job does come with significantly more responsibility and Moore said he would have to balance the Metro commitments with his work in Port Coquitlam.
"I would have to balance both jobs," he said. "The first thing I did was chat with our PoCo council to make sure they were OK with... picking up more of the workload here."
In most cases, he said, having the additional responsibilities would mean working longer days and more hours.
When Metro Vancouver directors gather next week, they will cast their vote for the new chair in a secret ballot. The chair will then select committee chairs for the region.
