Vancouver City Hall appears headed for a shakeup.
Not one, but two byelections could be in the wind, with long-serving councillor Adriane Carr set to make an announcement on Wednesday, Global News has learned.
Carr has been taking time over the holiday break to consider a possible retirement.
In December, she told reporters the decision would be both personal and professional. Carr said she wanted to spend more time with her family, but added she was also growing frustrated with the ABC Vancouver majority’s governing style, which included stripping opposition councillors of appointments to regional bodies.
Carr has represented the Vancouver Green Party on council since her election in 2011, and was the top vote-getter in two of her four successful campaigns.
OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle’s seat on council was already set to face a byelection, after she was elected to the B.C. legislature in the Vancouver-Mount Pleasant riding for the NDP in October.
The outcome of the two races won’t change the balance of power on council, as neither Carr nor Boyle sat in ABC Vancouver’s majority.
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ABC holds seven seats, along with an eighth vote in Mayor Ken Sim.
UBC political scientist Stewart Prest said the vote will likely serve as a barometer for how the city feels about ABC’s two years in power.
“Do they see this as a government they want to continue to support, or are the recent polling results that suggest ABC may be in some trouble actually turning into some votes against?” he said.
“The other big question is is there an opposition worthy of the name in Vancouver?”
ABC swept to power in 2022 amid a fractured opposition — when six other organized parties ran candidates.
Prest said under the first-past-the-post electoral system, those parties will need to coordinate and potentially look at fielding a “unity candidate” if they hope to have a chance at winning.
Stephen Molnar, president of ABC Vancouver, meanwhile said a “few dozen” people have already stepped forward to run for the governing party.
“ABC Vancouver is a big tent party, so we are very diversified in terms of neighbourhoods throughout Vancouver, different political backgrounds, so it was quite a cross-section of people,” he said.
“The first thing is trying to find candidates who add something to the mix in terms of what they can offer the city of Vancouver, and how they can work with the ABC team. It’s exciting.”
Molnar said the party will likely be making decisions about the next steps sometime next week, but added that safety and affordability will likely be the key themes of the campaign.
Prest said ABC opponents will likely look to harness some of the key flashpoints ABC has faced in its reign so far, including Sim’s move to abolish the Vancouver Park Board, controversy over an attempted move to potentially curtail the powers of the integrity commissioner, and questions over whether ABC has upheld its promise to hire mental health nurses along with 100 new police officers.
“There is a sense that perhaps the city is just drifting along, that it is a government by meme, a government by catchphrase and a government by vibes, and not a government with a clear and purposeful strategy for the city,” he said.
“And that above all I think may be a source of discontent.”
