Vision 麻豆传媒映画councillor Andrea Reimer is reconsidering retirement and will decide by Friday whether she wants to become the party鈥檚 mayoral candidate.
In a brief email Tuesday to the Courier, Reimer said she is seriously considering a run for mayor with Vision now that Ian Campbell is no longer interested in the position.
Coun. Andrea Reimer often uses a City of Vancouver-branded umbrella that is currently not available for sale to the public, but given as a gift to visiting dignitaries. Photo Dan Toulgoet
鈥淚n the last 18 hours I鈥檝e had a lot of friends and colleagues contact me and urge me to reconsider my decision and become Vision鈥檚 nominee for mayor,鈥� she wrote. 鈥淚 owe it to them and the city and agenda I have worked hard [on] for almost two decades now to seriously consider. So that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 doing.鈥�
Campbell shocked many Vancouverites, including his own party executive and candidates, when he announced Monday that he was withdrawing from the race to become mayor.
The Squamish Nation member, who is a hereditary chief, made his decision after reflecting on the 鈥減olitical landscape and my complicated personal journey,鈥� he said in an emailed statement.
Reimer鈥檚 reconsideration to become the party鈥檚 nominee comes after she announced in October 2017 that she wasn鈥檛 seeking re-election as a councillor, or interested in seeking the party鈥檚 mayoral nomination.
When asked then to respond to suggestions that she might be a successor to Mayor Gregor Robertson when he retires, Reimer said it had 鈥渘ever been my interest in life to be that person.鈥�
She added: 鈥淚t鈥檚 not my intention to run for mayor with any entity or non-entity. I get why people think mayor is a very important position and why one should want it. But you know where I come from. Just having the title 鈥榗ouncillor鈥� has been a hard thing for me to reconcile. I don鈥檛 aspire to be a mayor.鈥�
Three months later, Robertson announced he was retiring but Reimer said again she had no interest in becoming the party鈥檚 nominee. She did, however, became involved in Campbell鈥檚 campaign and was the person who introduced him at his launch.
Campbell has not responded to requests from the Courier to elaborate further on his reasons for withdrawing from the race. He became Vision鈥檚 nominee in June after competitor Taleeb Noormohamed pulled out of the party鈥檚 leadership race after he suffered 鈥渁 sudden cardiac event.鈥�
In her email to the Courier, Reimer said internal polling showed Campbell had 鈥渁n excellent shot at being our first Indigenous mayor.鈥�
As the CBC鈥檚 Duncan McCue reported in January, Reimer revealed that she herself has Indigenous ancestry. She learned that her maternal grandfather was Metis and her maternal grandmother, Cree.
Reimer has been a strong ally to the city鈥檚 Indigenous community, learning how to speak some phrases in the Squamish language and promoting the city鈥檚 reconciliation efforts.
Ange Valentini, Vision Vancouver鈥檚 executive director, told the Courier Tuesday that a new leader would have to be in place by Friday, the deadline for candidates to file nomination papers at the city鈥檚 election office.
The party will also consider endorsing other mayoral candidates, although she didn鈥檛 name them. Vision鈥檚 10 candidates for council, park board and school board will remain in the race, despite Campbell鈥檚 decision, she added.
In an email Tuesday night to people on Vision鈥檚 email list, Valentini said the party鈥檚 internal polling shows 鈥渋f an election were held today, it would be a neck and neck race between Vision and the NPA for mayor.鈥�
She added: 鈥淰ision may endorse an independent for mayor. But we know it鈥檚 very difficult for an independent to win. And we鈥檇 need to know how they would help elect our candidates, support Vision鈥檚 policies and, most importantly, how they would defeat a well-sourced NPA.鈥�
Retiring Vision councillors Tim Stevenson and Kerry Jang told the CBC Tuesday and later confirmed with the Courier that they are supporting independent mayoral candidate, Kennedy Stewart, for mayor.
Why?
鈥淏ecause I believe he鈥檚 now the best candidate to defeat the NPA,鈥� said Stevenson in an email, prior to knowing Reimer was considering becoming Vision鈥檚 candidate.
麻豆传媒映画has never had a woman as mayor.
