Young mayors lead new political wave Tri-Cities
Lower Mainland sees generational shift in the top elected municipal posts
Coun. Brad West won the mayoral race in Port Coquitlam and Rob Vagramov beat incumbent Mike Clay in Port Moody, becoming the two youngest mayors in the Lower Mainland.
“It’s cool,” said West. “But both in council and in this campaign, I have never identified myself as the young one because I think the issues I am speaking out about apply to all voters, regardless of age. Certainly, my plan is to bring my voice and my perspective as a young parent, but all of us need to be informed about them.”
In one of the earliest races to be declared on Saturday, West received 86 per cent of the popular vote with 10,236 ballots, resoundingly beating the closest contender, Robin Smith, who had 952 votes. Four incumbents were elected to council.
West, a three-term city councillor, was the first to enter the race for mayor when incumbent Greg Moore said he was not running again.
With several other long-serving mayors in Metro Vancouver also bowing out this election, West has been described as part of an emerging group of new municipal politicians in a generational shift.
He will succeed Moore, who had been mayor since 2007, and was a high-profile leader, serving as board chair of Metro Vancouver for seven years.
West has been outspoken about unchecked foreign capital hurting the cost of living in the region and the impact of this on young families trying to buy homes.
As a councillor, he was one of the first municipal politicians to describe the issue as also emerging in the Tri-Cities.
“This was a significant issue in the election and anyone who was connected to regular folks knew it was significant pretty early on,” he said ahead of celebrating with supporters at the Legion in Port Coquitlam.
“At the beginning, the focus was on Vancouver and Richmond, but we were seeing it in PoCo too.”
“The debate has been about whether to address demand or supply issues. I am all of the above. There is corruption and fraud taking place. This is well-documented now. It’s not a fallacy,” he said.
“At the same time, we have to be bringing supply (of housing), the right kind of supply, that people who work and pay taxes here can afford.”
Former longtime Global News broadcaster Steve Darling was elected to city council.
In Port Moody, challenger Vagramov, who is 28, beat incumbent Clay. Vagramov denied Clay a third term as mayor with 4,545 votes to Clay’s 4,161.
Vagramov’s campaign was based on what he called the “Metrotownification of Port Moody” with too many highrise towers, which resonated with voters.
He and Clay clashed over the pace of real estate development.
Clay felt a waterfront mill site, which sits near a park as well as transit, could be developed like the False Creek or Coal Harbour communities in Vancouver.
Vagramov’s stance on a slower pace of building was seen as an appeal to younger voters, but in late September, a video, filmed in 2014, showing Vagramov baiting a homeless person to drink beer in exchange for a sandwich drew hot debate on social media.
In Coquitlam, Richard Stewart rode a landslide to re-election for a fourth term as mayor, capturing 69 per cent of the popular vote with 16,462 ballots to challenger Adel Gamar’s 6,373.
Gamar attempted an appeal to the young-family vote over development and the increasingly unaffordable housing in the region, but voter sentiment remained with the incumbent.