Vancouver city councillors say they’re ready to get to work and deliver on their campaign promises, following a new term that will see a left-leaning council led by the city’s first Green Party mayor. On Saturday, Vancouverites elected four councillors from COPE and the Vancouver Green Party, as well as Lucy Maloney with One City and ABC’s Mike Klassen. The Greens and COPE are already committing to some shared promises such as reviewing the city’s budget. COPE City Coun. Sean Orr, who received the highest number of votes of any council candidate, with 83,038, said that will be one of his first priorities following inauguration in November. “We didn’t see a lot of transparency in the last budget,” he said. “It was famously very small. It wasn’t line-by-line. So, we need to go in and look at that and see the mess that we can clean up, see some opportunities as well for some cost savings.” Annette Reilly, a newly elected city councillor with the Greens, agreed, adding that once the budget is reviewed, the party would like to re-introduce some of the initiatives that were scrapped in the previous four years under ABC, such as the renter’s office which was shuttered in 2023, and the equity office which closed last year. Reilly said she wants to champion renewing leases for co-ops, and address faster permitting for child-care spaces. “That’s something I’d like to focus on right away,” she said. Both Orr, Maloney and Reilly support reversing the ban on net-new supportive housing. Orr said he will also be initiating a motion to bring back the city’s living wage policy, which was scrapped in January, and will advocate for greater funding for libraries and recreation centers. “Vancouver does have a lot of money, and we can fully fund the things that make Vancouver great, like our arts organizations,” he said. COPE’s platform included a mansion tax, which would impose a one per cent tax on homes over $5 million to pay for public housing. “We definitely think that there’s a lot of wealth in Vancouver, and that wealth can be redistributed,” said Orr. As for the Vancouver Police budget, Orr said he believes there will be cost savings there. He added that he supports the Greens’ campaign promise to introduce a Community Response Outreach Workers Team to respond to non-emergency calls regarding homelessness, public intoxication, and mental health crises. “Getting mental health off of the plate of the police,” Orr said. “We know that they don’t want to be doing that work either, and we need to be addressing that proactively, not reactively.” Both Orr and Reilly added they’re looking forward to the next term, and plan to work across party lines. Lucy Maloney, with One City, said, “Vancouver residents have clearly expressed their desire for a progressive majority working collaboratively.” Maloney added she’s committed to deliver results residents expect, “by drawing on our diverse perspectives.” ABC’s Mike Klassen shared a similar sentiment, adding he looks forward to working constructively with his colleagues, regardless of political affiliation. “I recognize that my role this term will be different, but I’ll seek common ground wherever possible while ensuring Vancouverites have a strong, independent voice at City Hall.”
