Vancouver Liberals pledge to cancel second city hall, boost park funding

VANCOUVER — A new municipal party formed by former members of Mayor Ken Sim's ABC Vancouver is promising to cancel what it calls an $800 million second city hall.

The Vancouver Liberals, led by mayoral candidate Kareem Allam, say they would reinvest that money into pools and parks as part of a $1.35 billion commitment to recreation facilities.

"We need people who are willing to step forward, be assertive and say 'enough is enough,'" council candidate Devin Clemens told The Ubyssey.

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Allam ran ABC Vancouver's 2022 campaign and served as Sim's chief of staff until February 2023.

The party says it has no affiliation with the federal or provincial Liberal parties, and Allam has said he chose the name to signal a centrist viewpoint.

Its platform also includes finishing the SkyTrain extension to UBC, offering free beach parking and lowering festival policing costs.

The Liberals are urging voters to vote no on the two plebiscite questions regarding public drug use and involuntary care.

The party's seven council candidates are Moira Stilwell, Armor Valor, John Coupar, Michael Wu, Jessica Walton, Devin Clemens and Victoria Jung.

Their priorities include expanding public transit, hiring 400 unionized frontline workers for maintenance and aligning Vancouver's building rules with the province's.

Jung, the chair of the Vancouver School Board, resigned from ABC in August 2024 citing a dispute over the city's integrity commissioner.

She said she joined the Liberals to "bring a little integrity back to politics" and described her time with ABC as "death by a thousand cuts."

If elected, Jung said she would focus on keeping young people and families in Vancouver and expanding childcare in public school facilities.

The Liberals' park board candidates are Scott Jensen, Tricia Barker, Amir Bajehkian, Amanda Bains, Mark Halyk and Shayla Bird.

Their park plan includes keeping the park board elected and independent, repealing Sim's motion to abolish it, and restoring its funding from 7.9 to 9 per cent of the city budget over four years.

Jensen, the Liberals' lead park board candidate, is a sitting commissioner who left ABC in December 2023 after Sim moved to abolish the board.

Asked why he left, Jensen said he could "not in good conscience be affiliated with a party that would misrepresent themselves so broadly in an election."

He told The Ubyssey that during his last term as chair, his team daylighted three major creeks and opened two community centres.

If re-elected, he said he would continue to work for Vancouver's parks with transparent, community-driven leadership.

Valor, a council candidate who previously ran with OneCity, said he was drawn to the Liberals for their "values of diversity" and is running to protect frontline workers.

Walton described herself as a "strong progressive voice" and said City Hall should refocus on less partisan politics.

Stilwell, a physician and former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister, said she wants a stronger economy for Vancouver by connecting UBC with downtown.

Clemens said his experience with housing affordability and job scarcity led him to understand the complexities, and he plans to make SkyTrain to UBC a reality to create "innovation-oriented jobs" for new graduates.

Barker, a former park board commissioner, said she wants to make parks and community centres more accessible to seniors and people with disabilities.

Bains said she wants to future-proof park infrastructure and green space so parks stay maintained and safe to use.

Bird, an educator and public historian, said she wants to invest in communities that have faced funding barriers and create a city where people feel connected.

Bajehkian said his campaign grows out of a passion for civic engagement with Canadians from different backgrounds.

He served on the Multicultural Advisory Council, which advises the Minister of Multiculturalism, and helped review and develop provincial anti-racism legislation.

Your Space Hamilton reported in October that the Vancouver Liberals released a 148-point platform that includes amalgamating UBC lands and a new 'Vancouver Accord' on housing and addiction.

Voters across British Columbia head to the polls on Oct. 17 to elect their local governments.

With files from The Ubyssey