Canada News
The Mayoral Hopefuls: Who Are They?
FILE: Vancouver from above (Photo by Jon Roberts/Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0)
After the three-term Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson last January announced via Facebook that he will not seek re-election on October 20, some prominent individuals have shown their interest in running for his seat.
As the municipal election is fast approaching, a number of Vancouver voters may have already picked the candidate they want to support, while others are still undecided, or maybe some of them have no idea who is running for elections.
But fret not because this list from Vancouver Sun will introduce to voters the mayoral bets eyeing to replace the departing Robertson.
- Hector Bremner
Hector Bremner was elected to Vancouver City Council in a by-election last 2017 as a Non-Partisan Association (NPA) member. Following a fruitful career in business development and operations management, in 2007, Bremner founded TOUCH Marketing. He was invited to be part of the British Columbia government in 2013 where he served with the Ministry of International Trade, Ministry of Tourism and Small Business, and the Ministry of Natural Gas Development, and Deputy Premier’s office. Since February 2015 up to July 2018, Bremner sat as the vice president of public affairs at Pace Group Communications. In February 2018, Bremner announced that he will run for mayor representing the NPA, but shortly after this announcement, his bid as a mayoral nominee was rejected by the NPA Board of Directors. After this setback, Bremner then moved forward as he formed a new political party called “Yes Vancouver.”
As a mayoral hopeful, Bremner’s campaign focuses on a comprehensive plan to fix housing problems Vancouver is facing.
- Ian Campbell
Ian Campbell is the Squamish Nation’s hereditary chief and has been one of its 16 elected councillors since 2005. He has also been the Squamish Nation’s lead negotiator for the past 20 years, engaging in talks with the City of Vancouver, province of British Columbia, and federal governments on projects like the 2010 Olympic Games, environmental protection, new housing, and other services to support people in his community. Campbell served as a board member of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh (MST) Development Corporation. He recently took a leave of absence from his duties in the council and the MSTDC board of directors to run for the election as Vision Vancouver’s mayoral candidate.
If elected, Campbell would prioritize these two things: triple the empty-homes tax and speed up permits for new housing.
- David Chen
David Chen is a certified professional consultant on aging and a certified financial planner. Chen holds a degree in human physiology in McGill University and in biopsychology and social psychology from University of British Columbia (UBC). For 13 years, Chen has run his own business specializing in financial planning for families with disabilities. For someone who has experienced to do blue-collar and white-collar works, Chen has already dealt with people in all walks of life – from the social elite to extremely marginalized. His diverse background has given him an understanding of what jobs have to be done and even how to inspire people around him. Chen, ProVancouver’s mayoral bet, also currently mentors young entrepreneurs and chairs his children’s school Parent Advisory Committee. His experience as the president of a 500-unit strata for nine years also equipped him to deal with developers and contractors, as well as to manage a democratic system within a small community.
Having to witness changes happening to Vancouver including those who were “priced out” of his city, Chen wants the entire Vancouver to be a city where every Vancouverite’s children can grow up in and stay in.
- Fred Harding
Joining the mayoral race is Fred Harding who is running under Vancouver First. Harding served as a police officer in the West Vancouver Police department since February 1999. He ended his career as a uniformed man when he retired as a corporal in 2017 and announced earlier this month he plans to run for mayor in Vancouver. Serving for 18-years in the police force, Harding is a recipient of commendations from the Commissioner of the London Metropolitan Police and the Commissioner of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Chief Constables commendation, and the British Columbia’s highest award of valour. Moreover, he also secured a high-level security clearance in the United Kingdom for national security work. Stated in his LinkedIn profile, Harding is now the president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Harding Global Consultants Ltd (HGC), a consulting company looking to bridge the business gap between North America and Asia.
If elected as Vancouver’s next mayor, Harding will focus on addressing issues in drugs, community health, municipal fundamentals (i.e. garbage collection), and enhancing law and order, according to Vancouver Sun’s report.
- Ken Sim
Before building his image in the business world, Ken Sim, Non-Partisan Association’s (NPA’s) candidate, worked as a night-shift janitor at a fast food chain. He worked evening and weekends at different jobs to be able to support his family and pay for his university education. In 1993, Sim graduated at the University of British Columbia’s Sauder School of Business and went on to become a certified professional accountant (CPA). He then worked at KPMG before he became an investment banker and merchant banker at investment banking. After years of being in the corporate world, Sim then decided to create his own name as he co-founded Nurse Next Door (which is now at 175 locations across North America) and Rosemary Rocksalt Bagels.
Recognized as Ernst & Young’s (EY’s) Entrepreneur of the Year in 2006 and 2016, Sim wants to express support to future entrepreneurs and job creation to stop Vancouverites from moving out of their city to look for better opportunities in other places.
- Kennedy Stewart
A federal New Democratic Party (NDP) member of parliament (MP) for Burnaby-South also joined in Vancouver’s mayoral race as an independent candidate. Kennedy Stewart, a two-term MP, earned his bachelor’s degree in history in Acadia University. He went on to study urban politics and policy as part of his masters at Simon Fraser University and completed his PhD on world cities at the London School of Economics in the United Kingdom. Stewart, in March, was arrested while protesting the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion at Kinder Morgan’s Burnaby facility. He, later on, pleaded guilty to one count of criminal contempt of court, shortly after he announced that he will be running as a mayor of Vancouver. But for Stewart, such conviction will not hinder him from eyeing for a position and bringing people together to discuss affordability crisis.
Given a chance to be the next mayor, Stewart hopes to make housing in Vancouver more affordable, end big money influence, and stand against Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.
- Shauna Sylvester
Like Stewart, Shauna Sylvester, a professor of Professional Practice in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at Simon Fraser University (SFU), is also running as an independent candidate for Vancouver mayor. Sylvester was previously appointed to the British Columbia Assessment Authority and once sat on the board of Vancity Credit Union and Mountain Equipment Cooperative. She has also co-founded and led five initiatives: the SFU Public Square, Carbon Talks, Renewable Cities, Canada’s World, and the Institute for Media, Policy and Civil Society (IMPACS). In addition to her impressive résumé, Sylvester was also the lead facilitator for the Mayor’s Task Force on Affordable Housing and other numerous city dialogues on various issues.
As a mayoral hopeful, Sylvester wishes to use her extensive experience to City Hall and prioritize housing, transportation, climate, and affordability issues in her area.
- Wai Young
Wai Young, a former Conservative MP for Vancouver South, is also among those who expressed interest to compete for mayor this October. Young earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of British Columbia and took post-graduate studies at Simon Fraser University and British Columbia Institute of Technology. She has spent over 30 years working and volunteering in Downtown Eastside, and community agencies like the Social Planning and Research Council of British Columbia, Association of Neighbourhood Houses, the Strathcona Community Centre, and YWCA Vancouver. Young, president of the Strathcona Community Centre, has learned that many inner-city children are skipping breakfast and just go straight to school. As a birth mother of twins and foster mother to seven children, she cannot just sit down and not do anything about it that is why Young worked with various government departments and funders to establish what is now the longest-running breakfast program in Canada for underprivileged children.
Running under the banner of Coalition Vancouver, Young’s promises includes free parking on Sundays, a clean and efficient city, and removal of bike lanes in Vancouver City to stop the “radical, agenda-driven war on transportation.”
