FILE: Vancouver mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle speaks at a rally in April 2021. Officials are investigating a fire set at McEnerny-Ogle's house on Monday night.
Troy Brynelson / OPB
Less than a day before someone reportedly started a fire at the home of Vancouver’s mayor, a burglar allegedly broke in and pilfered belongings, the mayor said in an interview.
Mayor Anne McEnerny-Ogle told OPB on Tuesday she believed the two cases, which likely occurred within 24 hours, are both “likely” connected to her role as an elected official.
“We probably know it’s because I’m elected,” said McEnerny-Ogle, who rose to Vancouver City Council in 2013 and became mayor in 2018.
McEnerny-Ogle, 68, said investigators agree the two incidents are likely connected. The Vancouver Police Department, which responded to the arson, could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Police have not announced an arrest in either incident.
According to McEnerny-Ogle, she and her husband reported a suspected break-in after they returned home Monday morning from an overnight stay elsewhere. She said they found their backdoor smashed in and their belongings pilfered.
“Someone spent quite a bit of time in the house going through everything,” McEnerny-Ogle said. “We had been working on cleaning all that up.”
McEnerny-Ogle declined to say what was taken, but did say some items taken were notable. She said some objects that are valuable were left alone.
“That’s the weird thing,” McEnerny-Ogle said, who added that she is assuming the burglar is a male. “He could have taken things and he chose not to.”
The reported break-in came less than 24 hours before police and fire crews responded to a fire. The mayor was at city hall with Vancouver City Council at the time. Her husband, Terry Ogle, extinguished the fire by the time crews arrived.
According to McEnerny-Ogle, her husband was on the phone with their adult son when the phone lines started behaving weird. Terry Ogle stepped outside to check the wiring, then saw a man running through the backyard away from a fire.
“He came in, grabbed the fire extinguisher, went outside and put the fire out, and called 9-1-1,” McEnerny-Ogle said.
When asked if there was any specific controversy or policy decisions at the city that could spur a dangerous retaliation, McEnerny-Ogle said she couldn’t speculate.
“It could be anything, it could be nothing,” she said. “It could be someone not happy with the way we trim trees, or the way we do policy for police or fire or this, that or the other. It could be a land use issue. It could be any number of things.”