NPA mayoral candidate Sim putting emphasis on transparency
Mayoral candidate Ken Sim and his Non-Partisan Association team released their vision for a “more-transparent, accountable” Vancouver, taking aim at anonymous campaign donations and secret money in local politics in the process.
The NPA nominee said he wants to end secrecy in local politics and would curb the influence of anonymous advertising and funding, and said he would release a full list of donors in advance of next month’s election.
Sim’s announcement follows a report that the anonymous donor behind an advertising campaign for rival Hector Bremner, whom Sim beat out for the NPA nomination, was real-estate developer Peter Wall. It has kicked off a debate about election finance and advertising rules.
Sim said Tuesday that, as mayor, he would commission an independent review of those rules, create a lobbyist registry and improve protection for those willing to blow the whistle on municipal corruption.
“We will empower city staff to do their jobs without political interference so they can innovate and develop creative solutions to Vancouver’s challenges,” said Sim, in a news release. “We’re also going to review city policies and programs introduced in the past 10 years to evaluate whether they are making Vancouver more livable and affordable.”
Front-running independent candidate Kennedy Stewart attacked Sim on the affordability issue Monday.
“I’m sorry that Mr. Sim doesn’t have a plan for that, but I do,” Stewart said, upon pledging to build 85,000 new homes over the next decade in Vancouver.
Sim countered that Stewart’s plan was unrealistic: “We are going to be very pragmatic and come up with a real plan where people are going to live.”
The centre-right NPA remains focused on the city’s long-term fiscal stability with Sim at the helm, as Sim also said he would cut city spending and keep taxes low.
The party’s plan calls for “five immediate steps to respect taxpayers,” the first two of which are full reviews of the city’s finances. Another step aims to reduce debt, though the details of that plan weren’t included in the plan released Tuesday.