Mayor Kennedy Stewart has endorsed Vision Vancouver's candidates

Mayor Kennedy Stewart has endorsed Vision Vancouver's Park Board and School Board candidates

Vision Vancouver candidates (top) and Forward Together candidates (bottom). (Vision Vancouver/Forward Together)

In a rare but highly strategic move, Mayor Kennedy Stewart officially announced today he is endorsing Vision Vancouver and all of their candidates for Park Board and School Board.

This comes just a week before civic election day.

Stewart’s party is Forward Together, which is running six candidates for Vancouver City Council — not including Stewart’s incumbent attempt to retain his mayoral seat.

Vision Vancouver, which previously held the governing power of City Hall for a decade with its majority in City Council, is running just three candidates for city councillor. However, Vision Vancouver does not have a mayoral candidate.

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Forward Together’s support for Vision Vancouver extends to Vision Vancouver’s two candidates for Vancouver Park Board commissioners and five candidates for Vancouver School Board trustees. Forward Together has not fielded any candidates for Park Board and School Board.

“Vancouver needs more progressive voices on School Board and Park Board, and this team of Vision Vancouver candidates brings the experience needed to work with the next city council to move forward on delivering high-quality public services, reconciliation, climate action, and childcare,” said Forward Together mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart in a statement.

“I am honoured to be endorsed by all seven of Vision’s Park Board and School Board candidates and am pleased to put my full support behind them, as I believe they are the best candidates to help with building a city for all of us.”

Stewart’s Forward Together candidates for City Council include Jeanette Ashe (his wife and political science professor), and Alvin Singh (his former chief of staff for the Mayor’s Office).

Vision Vancouver’s candidates for City Council include Stuart Mackinnon (currently a Park Board commissioner, and previously under the Green Party). School Board trustee Allan Wong and Park Board commissioner John Irwin, who was previously with COPE, are Vision Vancouver’s only incumbents.

“This exceptional team of Vision Vancouver school board and park board candidates is committed to bringing people together to build a city that works for everyone and reflects their values,” said Wong in a statement.”We’re pleased to endorse Kennedy Stewart for Mayor of Vancouver and look forward to working with him to strengthen our schools and parks.”

The civic election is scheduled for October 15, 2022.

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Editor’s note: This article has been edited to note Forward Together has endorsed only Park Board and School Board candidates.