ABC Vancouver defends its campaign for 2-seat byelection vote

CBC

22-03-2025

The party with the majority on Vancouver city council is being criticized for avoiding all-candidate meetings and running the police union boss as one of its byelection candidates, and now says it is having its signs stolen.
But it maintains enough is going right to get its voters mobilized and to the polls on April 5 to capture the two seats up for grabs.
"We're running a really good campaign, but we're not playing error-free baseball," said Stephen Carter, ABC Vancouver's campaign manager. "But I don't know if it's enough to hurt us in the long run."
Candidates Jaime Stein, an ex-B.C. United candidate, and Ralph Kaisers, a police officer with a 30-year career and the head of the Vancouver Police Department's union, have been trying to attend 250 party-organized events in 50 days.
Mayor Ken Sim has been with them along the way, touting his candidates and his council's record to small groups in private residences, cultural centres and seniors' homes.
"We can talk about anything you guys want," said Sim to a group gathered in an amenity room in a Coal Harbour condo complex on Thursday.
Stein says the events are about connecting with voters who he says are focused on issues, not the politics swirling around ABC.
"What I hear from people is they are looking for solutions," he said. "Whether it's clean streets, safe streets, or just removing red tape so that they can focus on doing business here in Vancouver."
ABC competitors are working hard though to try and widen any cracks they see in the party's approach, such as not attending all-candidate meetings to take questions on ABC's record.
"There is no question that Ken Sim's hand-picked backbenchers were picked for their deference to Sim," said Coalition of Progressive Electors candidate Sean Orr in February.
Kaisers is on leave from his union role but attention has been drawn to his provocative social media posts, such as those about policing in the Downtown Eastside and gun control.
He has also faced questions about the 2015 death of Myles Gray, who died from injuries after an encounter with seven police officers.
A public judicial hearing into the death is set for Jan. 19, 2026, which will, in part, look into whether union officials instructed officers not to take notes about the incident.
No officers have ever been criminally charged in relation to Gray's death.
"The day in question that people are suggesting that I said something or didn't say something or instructed people to do one thing or another, I was not there," said Kaisers on Thursday. "I did not tell them not to take notes."
Kaisers says he's being well-received by voters in regards to his career in policing and what he can now bring to civic politics.
"They applaud the fact that I've been a member for 33 years and they're actually happy that I've come forward," he said.
The ABC campaign had to admit a mistake after Kaisers used personal email addresses of union members to ask for their support. He apologized for what the party said was a gaffe.
If Kaisers is elected, he would be the second council member with a history of policing, alongside retired officer Brian Montague.
The duo would further cement the central pillar of ABC's 2022 platform, public safety, but political watchers say the party could be blurring the lines between impartial policing and governance.
"This is a calculated risk on the part of the ABC," said Stewart Prest, a University of B.C. political scientist. "But I think it is an unambiguous problem for democratic accountability of policing in Vancouver."
ABC also faced blowback after using its 2022 database to erect some 2,000 campaign signs on peoples' properties, despite some not wanting them.
Campaign manager Carter says the party is now dealing with sign theft. He claims up to 60 signs have been stolen with anti-Kaisers materials left in mailboxes.
"This isn't petty vandalism, this is politician manipulation," he said.
ABC Vancouver says it has called for Elections B.C. to investigate the matter.
Vancouver's two-seat byelection takes place on Saturday, April 5.