2017 Vancouver municipal by-election

A municipal by-election was held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada on October 14, 2017. Unlike in full elections, voters were only asked to elect one councillor and nine school board trustees rather than the full complement of elected municipal positions. The by-election was necessary for two reasons: the resignation of Vision Vancouver councillor Geoff Meggs from City Council to become BC Premier John Horgan's chief of staff[1] and the desire of the new provincial NDP government to reconstitute the Vancouver School Board, whose elected members had all been fired by the previous BC Liberal government.[2]

2017 Vancouver municipal by-election
October 14, 2017 (2017-10-14)
  First party Second party Third party
 
Candidate Hector Bremner Jean Swanson Pete Fry
Party NPA Independent Green
Seat change 1
Popular vote 13,372 10,263 9,759
Percentage 27.83 21.36 20.31
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Candidate Judy Graves Diego Cardona
Party OneCity Vision
Seat change 1
Popular vote 6,327 5,411
Percentage 13.17 11.26

This election marked the first time a OneCity candidate was elected to any position in Vancouver's elected government.

Background

The by-election was called to replace the single vacant council seat, due to Geoff Meggs' departure to take on the role of Premier John Horgan's chief of staff.[3] The by-election was also meant to elect a new board of school trustees, who had been dismissed by provincial education minister Mike Bernier after failing to pass a balanced budget and allegations of workplace harassment arose.[4]

Nomination process

Non-Partisan Association

On September 6, 2017, the Non-Partisan Association held a nomination meeting to decide their representative for the lone Council position. Hector Bremner, the successful nominee, beat out former school trustee Penny Noble and former leader of the Cedar Party Glen Chernen.[5] Candidates for the five school trustee positions were announced at the same time.[6]

Green Party

Pete Fry, who had unsuccessfully ran for Council in 2014, was the first confirmed nominee for council by any major political party in Vancouver. The Greens also nominated former incumbent Janet Fraser to run for re-election alongside Judy Zaichkowsky and Estrellita Gonzalez.[7]

Results

Councillor
Candidate Name Party affiliation Votes % of votes Elected
Hector Bremner Non-Partisan Association 13,372 27.83% X
Jean Swanson Independent 10,263 21.36%
Pete Fry Green Party of Vancouver 9,759 20.31%
Judy Graves OneCity Vancouver 6,327 13.17%
Diego Cardona Vision Vancouver 5,411 11.26%
Mary Jean Dunsdon Sensible Vancouver 1,737 3.62%
Gary Lee Independent 886 1.84%
Damian J. Murphy Independent 157 0.33%
Joshua Wasilenkoff Independent 131 0.27%

School Board trustees

(I) denotes incumbents prior to the dismissal of all nine School Board trustees by Education Minister Mike Bernier in October 2016.[8][9]

Candidate Name Party affiliation Votes % of votes Elected
(I) Janet Fraser Green Party of Vancouver 27,360 56.24% X
Judy Zaichkowsky Green Party of Vancouver 23,383 48.06% X
Estrellita Gonzalez Green Party of Vancouver 20,307 41.75% X
(I) Joy Alexander Vision Vancouver 19,709 40.52% X
(I) Allan Wong Vision Vancouver 18,678 38.40% X
Lisa Dominato Non-Partisan Association 18,258 37.53% X
(I) Fraser Ballantyne Non-Partisan Association 18,048 37.10% X
Carrie Bercic OneCity Vancouver 17,822 36.64% X
Ken Clement Vision Vancouver 17,583 36.15% X
Theodora Lamb Vision Vancouver 17,204 35.37%
Robert McDowell Non-Partisan Association 17,140 35.23%
Erica Jaff OneCity Vancouver 17,117 35.19%
(I) Mike Lombardi Vision Vancouver 17,094 35.14%
(I) Christopher Richardson Non-Partisan Association 16,839 34.62%
Diana Day Coalition of Progressive Electors 16,683 34.30%
Julian Prieto Non-Partisan Association 16,299 33.51%
Adi Pick Independent 10,263 21.10%
Christine Arnold Independent 9,209 18.93%
Jamie Lee Hamilton IDEA Vancouver 8,590 17.66%

References
  1. Little, Simon (July 4, 2017). "Vancouver Councillor Geoff Meggs to be John Horgan's chief of staff". Global News. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  2. McElroy, Justin (September 7, 2017). "Who's running in Vancouver's October byelection?". CBC News. Retrieved October 31, 2017.
  3. Vancouver Councillor Geoff Meggs to be John Horgan’s chief of staff
  4. Vancouver School Board fired by B.C. education minister
  5. Howell, Mike (September 7, 2017). "NPA council candidate focused on affordability". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  6. Brown, Scott (September 7, 2017). "NPA names candidates for Vancouver council and school board byelection". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 16, 2017.
  7. Brown, Scott (September 7, 2017). "Green party will run three candidates in Vancouver school board election". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 15, 2017.
  8. 2017 civic election candidate profiles | City of Vancouver
  9. 2017 By-election unofficial results
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