Two political parties, two independents – that’s who are vying for your votes in New Westminster in the Oct. 15 election.
The 2022 civic election is dominated by civic parties in a way that’s never happened before in New West. Of the 24 candidates running for mayor, councillor or school trustee, only two are independents. The other 22 candidates are part of two local electors’ groups – Community First New West and the New West Progressives.
How does that differ from the last election?
In 2018, New Westminster and District Labour Council-endorsed members of Team Cote took the mayor’s chair, all six seats on city council and five of the seven seats on the school board. An independent candidate and a New West Progressives candidate filled the other two spots on the school board.
In 2018, Jonathan Cote breezed to victory over the three independent candidates who challenged him for the mayor’s chair.
All totalled, 14 candidates vied for the six spots on city council – including six members of Team Cote (all elected), four New West Progressives (who took the seventh through 10th spots) and four independents (who placed 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th in the councillor race.)
A similar story emerged in the 16-candidate school trustee race, where Team Cote members dominated – with its five candidates garnering the five-highest vote counts. A New West Progressive candidate placed sixth and an independent incumbent claimed the final spot on school board. Unsuccessful candidates included three New West Progressives (who placed eighth, ninth and 13th) and six independents (10th, 11th, 12th, 14th, 15th and 16th).
Who’s running in 2022?
In the fall of 2017, the New West Progressives formed with the goal of bringing some different perspectives and voices to the city’s elected bodies.
Like 2018, the NWP is once again fielding a slate of candidates in 2022 – Ken Armstrong for mayor; five candidates for city council (Karima Budhwani, Rick Folka, Daniel Fontaine, Jiayi Li-McCarthy, and Paul Minhas); and three candidates for school board (Kathleen Carlsen, incumbent Danielle Connelly and Teo Dobre.)
After the 2018 election, some folks predicted that labour-endorsed candidates would form a civic political party of their own – and that’s just what they did.
The group had a bit of rocky start, beginning with the creation of the Together New West Electors Society in early December 2021, changing to Forward New West later that month (after its initial name raised concerns in the downtown business community) and rallying together under the Community First New West name in April.
In May, members of Community First New West selected a slate of candidates for the 2022 civic election – mayoral candidate (and incumbent councillor) Patrick Johnstone, five councillor candidates (Ruby Campbell, incumbent Chinu Das, Tasha Henderson, Bereket Kebede, incumbent Jaimie McEvoy and incumbent Nadine Nakagawa) and six school trustee candidates (Marc Andres, incumbent Dee Beattie, incumbent Gurveen Dhaliwal, incumbent Maya Russell, Elliott Slinn and Cheryl Sluis).
Instead of the 14 independents – those who were neither part of the New West Progressives or Team Cote slates – who ran in 2018 (three for mayor, four for council and seven for school board), there are only two independents this time out.
Longtime councillor Chuck Puchmayr (who was formerly part of Team Cote and has been endorsed by the labour council in the past) is running for mayor.
Downtown businessman Daniel Ampong is the lone independent running for city council. No independents are running for school board.
Here’s a bit about the independents and parties hoping to claim seats in New Westminster City Hall:
Independent council candidate Daniel Ampong
Ampong, a downtown business owner, said he’s running to help clean up the city, make the city safer and bring diversity to city hall. His other priorities include creating more jobs, creating more affordable housing and addressing the city’s infrastructure (such as repairs to some existing streets and bike lanes).
Ampong said he’d also like to see more community events and festivals in New West and would like to revisit council’s decision to eliminate the Royal City from official city branding.
In a Record questionnaire, he said he opposes reductions to the police department’s budget.
“I’m running as an independent because I believe that there should be at least one voice in city council that is there for the people, for the voiceless,” he said in his Record questionnaire. “Everyone deserves to feel represented and valued, and that is why I’m running to be your city councillor.”
Ampong responded to the Record’s questionnaire. You can read his responses here.
Independent mayoral candidate Chuck Puchmayr
Puchmayr is pledging to bring “sensible, non-partisan leadership” to city hall, with a focus on community safety and affordability.
Puchmayr’s platform focuses on: leadership, experiences and change; safe streets; small business; homelessness; community committee involvement; housing affordability; inflation; value in history and heritage; arts and culture; childcare; youth; climate action.
Some specific plans include:
* Upgrading the city’s electric charging infrastructure.
* Planting thousands of trees while protecting urban heritage forests.
* Protecting and expanding rental housing stock.
* Collaborating with senior levels of government, stakeholders and non-government organizations to deliver affordable housing.
* Working to ensure the New Westminster Police Department is a high-functioning, modern and progressive police service.
* Advocating for policies and strategies that support local business and create well-paid local jobs for people.
* Respecting taxpayers through responsible financial decisions.
* Advancing the process of reconciliation.
* Committing to an open and transparent government that includes “true public consultation.”
* Reconstituting some past committees: community railway advisory committee; emergency advisory committee; intelligent city advisory committee; and seniors advisory committee.
Puchmayr also responded to the Record’s questionnaire and also participated in a video interview.
Community First New West
Community First candidates are committed: social, economic and environmental justice; reconciliation and decolonization; climate action and stewardship; public services; and social democracy. (Its website states that its members are encouraged to support the NDP to advance a progressive agenda provincially and federally.)
Its candidates’ campaigns focus on activating the community, connecting the community and nurturing the community. Some of the items in the Community First New West mayor and council platform include:
* Including another significant public art piece in the rebuilding of Pier Park.
* Implementing a new retail strategy that addresses the needs of small businesses in the 21st century.
* Supporting Columbia Street businesses and residents by taking a proactive approach to addressing vacant and underutilized buildings.
* Working with sports communities to identify gaps in local sports and recreation facilities and to develop solutions that with for users, with an emphasis on updating outdoor sports facilities.
* Working with the Hamilton and Annacis Island communities in creating an integrated plan that makes it easier for Queensborough residents to move around.
* Improving direct communication with mayor and council.
* Reducing permit times and complexity for homeowners and businesses, especially for small projects
* Investing in a core mobility network for pedestrians and cyclists so everyone can safely and comfortably choose active transportation.
* Increasing and improving public seating and outdoor “cool spaces” through the city, including parks and parklets.
*Increasing the number of homes everyone can afford that are required in new multi-family developments in transit-focused areas.
* Working with business improvement associations, residents’ associations and non-profits to collectively identify safety concerns, and empowering the community to work with the city to mitigate concerns through evidence-based interventions.
* Developing a Community Land Trust model to drive affordable housing development and more strategic land use.
* Increase the number of accessible and conveniently located public washrooms and water fountains citywide.
Each of the Community First council candidates responded to the Record’s election questionnaire. You can read them here:
Community First New West mayoral candidate Patrick Johnstone also responded to the Record’s questionnaire and participated in a video interview.
New West Progressives
In early 2022, the New West Progressives held townhall meetings and conducted an online survey to get input from community members to help with the creation of its platform.
The party’s mayor and council platform – Believe in a Better New West: An Action Plan – outlines its priorities: reducing crime and improving public safety; strengthening neighbourhoods and community engagement; promoting artist and cultural activities to local residents and beyond; fostering a vibrant local and regional economy; and fostering New Westminster as a fun city to live, work and play.
Other priorities include: making New Westminster a recognized “pooch-friendly” city; reducing the impacts of traffic congestion on city streets; increasing housing affordability and choices while helping the unhoused; protecting the environment by nurturing a greener and more livable city; supporting a higher level of transparency, accountability and fiscal responsibility; reducing the city’s infrastructure deficit and supporting an active and sports-friendly city; and promising to support Queensborough.
Specific initiatives to be pursued include:
* Working with the police chief to dedicate new and shifting existing resources toward more non-traditional policing methods such as community policing offices, bike and foot patrols, with an initial focus in the downtown core.
* Reversing council’s decision to eliminate and phase out the Royal City moniker.
* Establishing a joint council/school board long-term planning committee to ensure better collaboration between the two elected bodies.
* Providing one-hour free parking in the city’s main commercial districts and two hours of free parking for no-carbon emission vehicles as part of a pilot project.
* Working with landowners to reduce the number of vacant and underutilized buildings by at least 25 per cent in the next four years.
* Streamlining permitting times and facilitating more affordable housing options by establishing up to 15 pre-approved designs that will reduce construction costs for the homeowner and city taxpayers.
* Monitoring and publicly reporting on a quarterly basis on the city’s capital and operating budgets.
* Initiating an independent “future needs assessment” and community consultation to determine what should be the key priorities regarding the renewal, replacement and construction of new sports and recreation facilities throughout the city.
* Directing staff to prepare a comprehensive plan for repairing the most serious lifted or cracked sidewalks and patching roads with an excessive number of potholes.
* Assessing the feasibility of re-establishing a recycling depot within New Westminster.
You can read about the entire New West Progressives platform on its website.
Each of the New West Progressive candidates responded to the Record’s election questionnaire. You can read them here:
NWP mayoral candidate Ken Armstrong also responded to the Record’s questionnaire and participated in a video interview.
Follow Theresa McManus on Twitter @TheresaMcManus
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