Voting strategically with your heart

City Conversation #84: Hoping that who you vote for is what you wish for

October 1st 2022— A listserv post that I was asked to share more widely:

“Departure” by George Lunden—photo by Brian Palmquist

Some folks I respect have been suggesting that to oust Kennedy Stewart, instead of voting for TEAM, you should be voting for ABC’s Ken Sim. I am admittedly partisan, but offer these reasons to instead place your votes with Colleen Hardwick for Mayor and TEAM’s candidates for Council, Park Board and School Board:

• Stewart and his party are destined to fail re-election—they have been outed for their courting of large developer money and will surrender City residents’ future to those interests—only TEAM refuses large developer contributions, explicitly supports neighbourhood-based planning and will repeal the Broadway and Vancouver Plans. Kennedy’s progressive voters, disheartened by his reliance on big money, are already fleeing in droves to TEAM.

• The election has become too close to call. But supporting ABC and Ken Sim instead of TEAM and Colleen Hardwick may split the vote and favour candidates who will sell out your community, including Stewart and, sadly, Ken Sim. I say that because…

• ABC & Ken Sim are taking money from all the same large developers as Stewart, allowing them the budget to carpet the city with vague ads and vaguer promises—Ken Sim and ABC support the Broadway Plan and the Vancouver Plan that will quickly destroy our city if not repealed.

• In addition, Ken Sim has no city hall experience, has attended virtually no city hall meetings or public hearings since he was defeated in 2018. Yet he wants to run the city! It’s no coincidence that he and Kennedy Stewart continue to duck neighbourhood meetings. TEAM’s mayoral candidate, Colleen Hardwick, has been at every meeting, has been a vocal minority for neighbourhood-based growth and development, and it shows every time she debates the issues with Stewart and Sim—when they bother to show up!

• I had the privilege of attending many of Colleen’s dozens of neighbourhood Zoom meetings during COVID—whenever she asked neighbours if they could accommodate their fair share of Vancouver’s realistic population growth, I was so proud to hear their universal answer—“Of course we can!” Made me so proud to be a Vancouverite and to stand with Colleen.

The strategic vote is for Colleen Hardwick for Mayor + TEAM’s candidates for Council, Park Board and School Board—a better future for Vancouver, free of anti-democratic large developer influence. Please, every time you hear “Let’s vote strategically to oust Stewart,” answer “That’s why we need to vote for TEAM for a Livable Vancouver.”

Take care and be sure to vote as if your future in Vancouver depends on it—because it does! Feel free to contact me directly if you have specific questions.

The Time for Action is Now!

TEAM for a Livable Vancouver is the only political party pledged to set aside the Vancouver Plan and the related Broadway Plan and bring back neighbourhood-based planning. Vancouver’s civic election is October 15th of this year. Lots more damage can still be done to our city before that date—and it will continue, and worsen, unless TEAM elects the next Mayor and a majority (6 of 10) City Councillors—less than 6 and not much will change for the better. A majority TEAM Park Board (4 of 7) will ensure our open spaces are integrated with the city rather than ignoring or fighting it. And our voice on the School Board will bring schools into sync with parks, open spaces and neighbourhood development.

If you are concerned that the City Conversations you’ve been reading are examples of what’s wrong with our city and want to bring back Vancouver’s livability, join TEAM and work with us to restore Vancouver as a place we can all afford to call home.

And please let me know what other subjects you are passionate about so we can have that conversation before election day, October 15th.

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Today’s question: Will you vote “strategically” in this election? Why or why not? 

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Brian Palmquist is a Vancouver-based architect, building envelope and building code consultant and LEED Accredited Professional (the first green building system). He is semi-retired for the moment, still teaching and writing, so not beholden to any client or city hall. These conversations mix real discussion with research and observations based on a 40+ year career including the planning, design and construction of almost every type and scale of project. He is the author of the Amazon best seller “An Architect’s Guide to Construction.” He is also a member of team for a livable Vancouver, a new political party dedicated to restoring a livable Vancouver starting with the 2022 civic election. City Conversations are generally congruent with TEAM policy, so if you like the ideas that I’m writing about, please consider joining TEAM.