Four OneCity party hopefuls form 'Builders' slate for Vancouver City Council race | Daily Hive

Frances Bula. (Vincent L. Chan/UBC)

Four candidates hoping to run for Vancouver City Council under the OneCity Vancouver party have joined forces in their bid to fill four of the five city councillor spots the party is expected to nominate for the October 2026 civic election.

Veteran local urban issues and municipal politics journalist Frances Bula, urban planner Iona Bonamis, Co-operative Housing Federation of BC managing director Jarrett Hagglund, and Chinatown activist and accountant Mike Tan have unveiled their slate, called “OneCity Builders.”

They are seeking to run alongside incumbent OneCity city councillor Lucy Maloney — who was first elected into office in the April 2025 by-election — and OneCity mayoral candidate William Azaroff.

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According to OneCity’s website, the party currently has 12 city councillor candidates under consideration for nomination, including the four OneCity Builders candidates. If selected, the four would join OneCity’s broader slate.

The announcement of their slate comes just after Wednesday’s joint announcement by OneCity, the Green Party of Vancouver, and the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), with the three left-leaning/progressive parties agreeing to limit the number of candidates they will run in each of the three bodies — Vancouver City Council, Vancouver Park Board, and Vancouver School Board — with specific caps set.

For City Council, which has 10 city councillor seats up for election this fall, each party will nominate up to five candidates. As well, the three parties will try to agree on the best left-wing/progressive mayoral candidate, with Azaroff joining Green mayoral candidate and sitting city councillor Pete Fry in the race. COPE is also expected to nominate its own mayoral candidate over the coming weeks.

Such an approach through the agreement is intended to improve the chances of defeating Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC Vancouver governing majority by limiting competition among left-wing/progressive candidates and avoiding vote splitting. All three parties are expected to nominate their candidates in the first half of May 2026.

“Cities are governed by councils. I’ve seen what happens when strong teams are aligned and ready to act, and what happens when they’re not. We’re running together because that’s how you get real change done,” said Bula in a statement.

Bonamis added, “I’ve spent my career helping communities be more liveable, inclusive, safe, and connected. This team brings a range of professional and lived experiences that will put Council in a better position to understand the needs of different communities in this city.”

In the 2022 civic election, Bonamis had a 12th place finish in the City Council race, winning 33,745 votes under the OneCity banner — behind Forward Together’s Dulcy Anderson’s 33,985 votes and Fry’s 10th place finish of 37,270 votes to secure the last seat in City Council.

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