Byelection to set tone for 2018 municipal vote
Former Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs’ replacement being sought
Vancouver’s political parties are gearing up for a mid-October byelection that is expected to set the tone for the October 2018 general municipal elections.
The byelection is expected to be held Oct. 14 to replace former Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs, who resigned to become chief of staff for B.C. Premier John Horgan.
If Vision loses the seat, the party would still hold the balance of power at city hall.
However, Non-Partisan Association Coun. George Affleck said that if the NPA or Green party of Vancouver takes the empty seat, opposition parties could combine votes and force Vision Mayor Gregor Robertson to often cast a deciding vote.
Affleck said the coming election will allow parties to hone campaign platforms and take the temperature of Vancouver citizens.
“I think the byelection will be very competitive,” Affleck said. “I think you can see a lot of discontent with the Vision government.”
Affleck said the NPA is looking at a number of potential candidates and a vetting process will take place before party members vote on a candidate in late August. Affleck said he is encouraging Rob McDowell, a 2014 NPA candidate, to run in the byelection.
Parties can nominate candidates between August 29 and September 8. Advance voting will take place from October 4 to 10.
Maria Dobrinskaya, Vision’s cochair, said the party is talking with a number of potential candidates.
Dobrinskaya confirmed that Patti Bacchus, a prominent Vision politician who has repeatedly topped polls as a Vancouver school board trustee, is among potential candidates for the party.
The school board’s nine trustees were fired by the Liberal government last October, after a majority refused to pass a balanced budget in a protest over school funding. The new NDP government has said it will consider holding byelections for the vacant Vancouver council seat and the Vancouver school board seats at the same time.
On Friday, Bacchus said she will announce whether she intends to run for the vacant council seat or a school board position, by the first week of August.
“My heart is close to the Vancouver school board, but I’m getting a lot of encouragement from people to run for council,” Bacchus said.
Pete Fry, an established name with the Green Party of Vancouver, said Friday that he will seek the party’s nomination for the byelection.
“I do intend to run and it’s humbling how much support I’ve been getting,” Fry said. “Adriane (Carr) has been encouraging me to run.”
Carr, the Green Party of Vancouver’s sole councillor, won the most votes among all Vancouver council candidates in the 2014 civic election.
Fry, who trailed Meggs by 10,000 votes in 2014, said he believes the
The byelection will be very competitive. I think you can see a lot of discontent with the Vision government.
Greens are positioned to gain support in Vancouver after the party’s successful provincial election campaign.
Another party trying to cut into Vision’s majority on council is OneCity. The party’s candidate will likely be Judy Graves, a well-known anti-poverty advocate. Graves was a supporter of Robertson. But in announcing her intention to run as a candidate in the byelection, she criticized Vision’s commitment to ending homelessness in Vancouver.