Will Vancouver’s so-called “progressive left” parties rally behind one mayoral candidate for this upcoming election? In short, probably.
However, with time running out ahead of the Sept. 11 deadline to declare for the race, it’s still not clear who that candidate will be.
Former COPE candidate Stephanie Allen announced she’s stepping away from the race to make room for either Green Party candidate Pete Fry or OneCity’s William Azaroff. After polls showed Fry significantly ahead of the two of them, Allen says she’s putting her “ego” aside to work towards a common goal, one that has been in the works since April, when all three parties agreed to avoid splitting the vote.
“The polls were saying something quite clearly,” Allen said.
“Even though they’re not predictions, and we’re really clear on that, it did put some indicators in front of us, and we know that time is running out.”
Speaking at a campaign event, Azaroff hasn’t completely ruled out stepping down and isn’t putting much stock into recent polls.
“Let’s see what happens on Sept. 11 at 4:59 p.m.,” he said.
“I’ve been surprised at how much two mediocre polls produced at the end of July have shaped the race in a lot of people’s minds.”
Azaroff doubled down, saying OneCity remains a better option for voters than Pete Fry’s Green party. He says he’s not seeing the leadership and momentum it’ll take to beat incumbent Mayor Ken Sim.
“I do worry about the Greens’ ability to build on that 17 per cent and not see it as a ceiling but as a floor,” he said.
“I haven’t seen the activity there that would help me gain enthusiasm.”
Meanwhile, Fry, with eight years of council under his belt, points to his popularity in these early polls and hopes for Azaroff to have a “graceful exit.”
“If the shoe were on the other foot and William was showing as well as I’m currently showing, I would step away, frankly,” Fry said.
ResearchCo. president Mario Canseco is the author of one of the polls being cited. Canseco says without a clear candidate, it could cause confusion for voters heading to an already-crowded election.
“Even though we think of the progressives as parties that like each other, the events of the last few weeks just shows that they don’t,” Canseco said.
“You make things easier by saying, ‘COPE and Green are running together, these are our candidates, these are our names, make sure you cross all the dots before you leave the polling station.’”
Canseco adds that the recent decline in Sim’s popularity is an indication there will be a higher voter turnout for this upcoming election. The last time Vancouver had more than 50 per cent of the population cast their votes was in 2002 when Larry Campbell was elected mayor.
Vancouver City Hall. (CityNews Image)
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