VancouverMETRO VANCOUVER NEWS
Richmond councillor Bill McNulty retires after more than 50 years of community service
Bill McNulty, Richmond’s second-longest-serving councillor, will leave office after serving on council since 1993 and says he plans to remain active in sports, heritage and politics.
Richmond councillor Bill McNulty has decided to retire and will not appear on a ballot for the first time since the 1980s. Elected to council in 1993, he is the city’s second-longest-serving councillor after Harold Steves.
McNulty told Richmond News the decision was made with his family and that he wanted to leave while he remains healthy. The prospect of significant turnover on the next council also factored into his decision.
Sport helped shape McNulty’s path into public life. He helped co-found the Richmond Sports Council in the mid-1980s, was appointed to the Association of Track and Field Statisticians in 1989 and later became a life member of the International Society of Olympic Historians. He graduated from UBC’s physical education program in 1968, earned a master’s degree two years later, led UBC’s intramural program and served for more than 30 years on UBC’s Academic Senate. He also established the Bill McNulty Scholarship in Kinesiology.
McNulty worked as a teacher and counsellor at Vancouver’s Magee High School until retiring in 2006. He has compiled extensive B.C. track-and-field history and written four books on local history and traditions, with a fifth expected shortly.
Among the accomplishments he cited from his political career were the Canada Line, the Richmond Olympic Oval, the purchase of the Garden City Lands, and the Brighouse and Ironwood libraries. He served on numerous city committees and boards as well as in Metro Vancouver roles. His honours include the B.C. Community Achievement Award in 2005, the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Medal in 2013 and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Pin in 2022.
McNulty said he often voted according to what he believed was best for Richmond rather than following the popular vote. He advised future public servants to treat the role as full-time work, prepare thoroughly, learn from others and visit sites when considering rezoning and other land-use matters instead of relying only on renderings.
He said he intends to continue working with sports and heritage groups, write more books and remain engaged politically. McNulty said he would continue trying to help residents even when they held different political views.