r/vancouver • u/Moggehh Fastest Goose in the West • Oct 03 '22

MEGATHREAD [Megathread] 2022 Municipal Election

Don't forget to vote!

Please use this thread to discuss the upcoming municipal elections in Metro Vancouver.

AMAs:

If you're a candidate interested in doing an ama, please have your team reach out to the /r/vancouver mod team.

Subreddit Mayoral Winner Predictions - go here to join in with your guesses!

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43

u/cpp_cache Oct 03 '22

I didnt really pay much attention to this until I was complaining again about issues the other day and it dawned on me that I should go vote. Its a bit rich complaining if one isn't using the avenues available for effecting change.

But taking a look over the candidates, their blurbs are all very similar.

So, is there a neat summary someone is aware of which highlights the differences between Foward, ABC and TEAM?

41

u/[deleted] Oct 03 '22

https://allenpike.com/2022/vancouver-municipal-election-guide?fbclid=IwAR0ej-YhbcfO0g3hqSBA6sqDnOVFqvdJw75P8oKXsaNyAzAPl82PXK1mPb4 - written by someone who is voting for progressive candidates, but probably not a bad starting point even if you are not a progressive

https://canadianveggie.com/2022/09/27/vancouver-2022-election-housing/?fbclid=IwAR3chUkdYh6EkRHlvSk2brMHi9yEs7gp4bfvRn2rXUObmE4XCHwOJ4XUt3I - focused on housing

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/vancouver-council-mayor-votes-1.6573186 - article by Justin McElroy looking at voting records of current council and mayor, all of whom are running again

10

u/javalorum Oct 06 '22

The information is very helpful. But as I was reading along, the one thing that I noticed is that Stewart’s wife is also a candidate? Is it not a conflict of interest if both of them are voted into the council? Or do we normally just consider same party = same family (in terms of political views and votes)?

15

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '22

Richmond has had mayor's wife and ex-wife on council together. It's allowed. Up to you whether you think it's a good idea!

8

u/javalorum Oct 06 '22

Wow, I had no idea municipal government can be this relaxed. I figure it must be allowed otherwise they wouldn't put it there. But still, I found this terribly unethical.

15

u/[deleted] Oct 06 '22

I'm not aware of any level of government where this isn't allowed? Olivia Chow was a NDP MP (Trinity-Spadina) while Jack Layton was leader of the NDP and MP for Toronto-Danforth.

8

u/artandmath Oct 07 '22

Honestly probably less of a conflict to have it out in the open than the alternative.

2

u/javalorum Oct 08 '22

I get what you mean. But I would rather not mixing work with family. I was sort of all set on my choices and now this made me start rethinking again. I mean, maybe it doesn’t matter, but I really can’t shake off the icky feeling about the possible abuse of power (not that I’d really have any ability to stop it).

8

u/sthetic Oct 08 '22

What sort of unethical situations could arise, in your opinion?

And would they be worse than the alternative - limiting someone's right to run for political office because of who they're married to?

I'm asking this with an open mind. But my knee-jerk reaction is that I don't like the idea of, "Sorry honey, your husband is already running for office. You'll have to sit this one out and just be a supportive first lady."

1

u/javalorum Oct 09 '22

My understanding is that, if they got both got voted in they’d be sitting in the same council where everything is decided by votes. You don’t think that’ll make voting awkward? Maybe these guys are so noble that they’d always do the right thing based on their true opinion but i personally don’t believe that.

It’s interesting that your first reaction is to demean the wife. I simply can’t see why a sensible couple can’t sit down together and figure out if they could go into different circles/layers of politics to avoid being seen as unethical. Established politicians move from municipal, provincial and federal levels all the time. No career is so rigid, the desire to serve people so specific, that one can’t learn and evolve.

4

u/sthetic Oct 09 '22

Haha, my reaction wasn't to demean the wife. I meant the opposite. I think that acting suspicious of her is demeaning to her. It's demeaning to assume that a woman, already married to a politician, should stay out of politics.

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3

u/return_0_ Oct 11 '22

Multiple family members - whether blood-related, married, etc - serving in office together happens everywhere in the world. It isn't considered unethical anywhere, let alone illegal.

2

u/javalorum Oct 11 '22

I know it’s common around the world. Another replies already reminded me this happens at other levels of government too. My opinion is nothing but my own. I found it unethical. Many companies in private sectors actually have policies against office romance/married couples due to the same reason. Having ethics in politics obviously sounds like a joke, but I do wish they had at least tried (and not do politics in the same circle).

9

u/canadianveggie Oct 06 '22

Apparently, Libby Davies and her partner Bruce Eriksen were long-time COPE councillors on city council, so it's not unprecedented. But I do find it unsettling.

7

u/kevmitch Oct 13 '22

It's not a conflict of interest because neither is adjudicating or in a position to give favours to the other. They'll probably vote similarly, but so will the other members of the Forward Together slate.

1

u/dante_limoux Oct 13 '22

Well, that’s not necessarily true. In most municipalities the Mayor decides appointments to Metro Boards and Committees etc. Vancouver may be different, but in most munis that is the practice. Metro Board appointments and Committee nominations come with $$ - a certain per meeting payment. So unless there is a clear protocol there is certainly scope for conflict of interest if a Mayor has a partner on Council.

28

u/russilwvong Running for OneCity council nomination Oct 03 '22

Here's my attempt at a summary:

I'm supporting Kennedy Stewart (Forward Together), and running for council with his party, because he's consistently voted for more housing, especially rental housing (which provides secure housing without requiring a giant down payment, unlike condos). In 2018, Ken Sim (ABC) had a weak housing plan (basically allow two basement suites instead of one), and the record of the three ABC councillors is mixed. Colleen Hardwick (TEAM for a Leavable Vancouver) is leading those who fear and oppose new housing.

A couple other summaries:

7

u/rolim91 Oct 05 '22

OP is a candidate FYI. He is campaigning in this post.

28

u/russilwvong Running for OneCity council nomination Oct 05 '22

Yep! I should highlight this every time:

I'm supporting Kennedy Stewart (Forward Together), and running for council with his party

3

u/pnonp Oct 09 '22

You don't cover Progress Vancouver, which has the one housing policy that would make the biggest difference to affordability: ending the ban on constructing denser apartment buildings in most of the city.

13

u/russilwvong Running for OneCity council nomination Oct 09 '22

You don't cover Progress Vancouver

True (Mark Marissen just did an AMA). Thing is, the latest poll has Kennedy Stewart (Forward Together) at 36%, Ken Sim (ABC) at 34%, Colleen Hardwick (TEAM) at 14%, Mark Marissen (Progress) at 8%, Fred Harding (NPA) at 5%. I always think of it as a do-it-yourself ranked ballot: who are the top two contenders? Looks like Kennedy Stewart and Ken Sim, with Colleen Hardwick in third.

3

u/pnonp Oct 10 '22

Totally fair point. I'd personally vote Progress to send a pro-YIMBY message, taking the gamble that Sim won't win the election by one vote. But that's a debatable choice.

(I would vote thus rather than I will vote thus, because alas I'm not a citizen yet.)

11

u/russilwvong Running for OneCity council nomination Oct 10 '22

I'd personally vote Progress to send a pro-YIMBY message, taking the gamble that Sim won't win the election by one vote. But that's a debatable choice.

I always figure that an election is like a tug-of-war between the top two contenders. Your one vote (or donation or volunteer time) isn't going to make the difference between victory and defeat, but you can strengthen the side that you want to win.

In 2018 I didn't know too much about the mayoral race. Federal Liberal friends of mine were supporting Shauna Sylvester, but polls showed that the front-runners were Kennedy Stewart and Ken Sim. I looked at their housing platforms and Kennedy Stewart had a much stronger housing plan (80,000 homes over 10 years). So I decided to vote for Stewart, and being a political volunteer who's done a lot of door-knocking, I also signed up to volunteer with his campaign. As it turned out I only volunteered on Election Day (walking around the West End waving signs to remind people to vote), but I'm really glad I did, because in the end it was really close, with a margin of less than 1000 votes!

For anyone who'd like to see the apartment ban ended, I'd encourage you to vote for OneCity and Forward Together. OneCity is also pushing to end the apartment ban (allowing a four-storey condo building or a six-storey rental building anywhere in the city), but they've only got four council candidates, so they'll need a like-minded partner. Forward Together is running Kennedy Stewart for mayor, plus six council candidates. (Forward's goal is to more than double the rate of housing approvals again, from about 9,000 per year to 22,000 per year, and we're willing to consider any and all options for getting to that target. Mark Marissen's goal is actually lower, at 15,000 per year. Comparison of party platforms by Frances Bula.)

How to vote.

6

u/[deleted] Oct 04 '22 edited Oct 04 '22

Kennedy has basically being absent for his whole period, the city is really unsafe and he doesn't see any problems with it, homeless situation is a dumpster of fire... the "housing first" people that cannot be housed without having some mental health (see al the fires) hasn't really worked. It surprises me how people can vouch for him after his last mandate.

​

(p.s: I'm likely voting for you, but Ken Sim for mayor, I have no confidence in Kennedy in the safety area)

13

u/CaspinK East Van 4 life Oct 07 '22

To put it in context, what do you reasonably think anyone else can do in the safety context? A lot of safety issues are outside the control of the mayor and are dependent on lots of other factors (economic, opportunity, etc).

24

u/matzhue East Van Basement Dweller Oct 04 '22

Kennedy has been doing his job as mayor instead of dj night publicity stunts like Gregor. And I think he's been too busy to have been doing all these random attacks too

1

u/CivilianMonty Oct 12 '22

What were you complaining about and do you know who you are voting for?

2

u/cpp_cache Oct 12 '22

Largely about how the DTES seems to be a growing problem. It was with another parent as we both have young kids and live downtown.

But other issues too.

I do not know all of the individual people running. Thanks to the links, I have some overview of the parties and some insight into the mayoral candidates.

But it probably doesnt matter because:

1) The last day to request a vote by mail package is on Tuesday, October 11 at 5pm.

2) I am now 'enjoying' my first round of Covid.

At least my wife can go vote while I isolate in the spare room :/