In a day of hot takes on the Vancouver election results, I'll attempt to raise the temperature, a lot.
The political centre carried the election, because the Vancouver electorate taken as a whole is centrist.
Ken Sim and ABC were the consensus choice of the centre. #vanpoli /
The political centre carried the election, because the Vancouver electorate taken as a whole is centrist.
Ken Sim and ABC were the consensus choice of the centre. #vanpoli /
This was ground formerly held by Vision Vancouver, ground lost to the ether in the 2018 election.
With no clear home for centre voters in 2018, a mishmash of values and parties found themselves on Council.
And Stewart found himself Mayor, with a hot mess of a council. /
With no clear home for centre voters in 2018, a mishmash of values and parties found themselves on Council.
And Stewart found himself Mayor, with a hot mess of a council. /
The extra hot mess NPA took little time to break into factions, and in this Sim, who barely lost to Stewart and got 5 councillors across the line, saw opportunity.
Rather than ride the baggage of the NPA a second time, or try to fix it, he created a new vehicle. /
Rather than ride the baggage of the NPA a second time, or try to fix it, he created a new vehicle. /
Sim filled the centrist vacuum left by the collapse of Vision, and attracted the 3 best NPA councillors, who were also those with the most centrist cred, to his new ABC party.
And he was rewarded with the election of every single candidate who ran with ABC beside their name. /
And he was rewarded with the election of every single candidate who ran with ABC beside their name. /
The groundwork for this was laid by the founders of One City in 2014 - not content with Vision's moderate approach.
As One City gained momentum and COPE re-emerged, with the naive backing of the VDLC, the demise of the Vision centre-left coalition was set in motion. /
As One City gained momentum and COPE re-emerged, with the naive backing of the VDLC, the demise of the Vision centre-left coalition was set in motion. /
By failing to recognize the importance of compromise, moderation and holding the centre, the COPE/One-City left and their backers created the conditions for 2018, and in turn 2022. /
Extra hot take: In parsing the results on the left, there may well be successful calls for unity behind One City or a similar vehicle that is unwelcoming to centrist voters.
And so the left may solve its internal factionalism, but it will not bring the centre back. /
And so the left may solve its internal factionalism, but it will not bring the centre back. /
In this context, Ken Sim and ABC will have the opportunity to create a new centrist dynasty (this one leaning right rather than left as Vision did).
And the left can feel good about itself as a permanent opposition, not having the power to do anything.
And the left can feel good about itself as a permanent opposition, not having the power to do anything.
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