Vancouver municipal election, 2011

Vancouver municipal election, 2011

November 19, 2011 (2011-11-19)

11 seats in Vancouver City Council   First party Second party Third party   Leader Gregor Robertson Suzanne Anton Adriane Carr (de facto) Party Vision NPA Green Leader since June, 2008 2011 2011 Leader's seat Mayor Ran for Mayor (lost) Councillor Last election 8 seats, 54.39% 1 seat, 39.26% 0 seats, N/A Seats won 8 2 1 Seat change ±0 +1 +1 Popular vote 77,005 58,152 N/A Percentage 53.17% 40.15% N/A Swing -1.21% +0.89% N/A   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Ellen Woodsworth (de facto) Randy Helten Party COPE NSV Leader since 2011 2007 Leader's seat Ran for Councillor (lost) Ran for Mayor (lost) Last election 2 seats, N/A N/A Seats won 0 0 Seat change -2 ±0 Popular vote N/A 4,077 Percentage N/A 2.77% Swing N/A N/A

Mayor before election Gregor Robertson Vision Elected Mayor Gregor Robertson Vision

The City of Vancouver held its municipal election on November 19, 2011, along with other municipalities and regional districts in British Columbia. All local government elections were for a three-year period. The ballot elected one Mayor, 10 councillors, nine school board trustees and seven park board commissioners. A $180 million capital borrowing plan^[1] was also put to a vote.

Incumbent Mayor Gregor Robertson and the Vision Vancouver Party sought and won their second term in office following their victory in the 2008 election. All Vision Vancouver candidates won seats in their respective categories.^[2]

Suzanne Anton lost her bid as mayor but the NPA team gained seats in council, Park Board and School Board. COPE was nearly wiped out this election, losing both seats in city council. Its only elected official was School Board trustee incumbent Allan Wong.^[3] On December 8, 2013, Wong resigned from COPE and joined Vision as a sitting trustee.

The Green Party of Vancouver had its first elected city councillor with Adriane Carr, but lost its incumbent seat in the Park Board.^[4] New party NSV did not win any seats in council. Leader Randy Helten placed a distant third in the mayoral race.

Candidates and results

The nomination period officially opened on October 4, 2011 and closed on October 14, 2011. This was the second election where Vision Vancouver and the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) signed an electoral agreement to support each other's candidates for election.^[5][6] (I) denotes incumbents.

Mayor

Twelve candidates sought election to the position of mayor. Four were affiliated with a political party and eight were independents. Incumbent mayor Gregor Robertson of Vision Vancouver was re-elected.

City Councillors

Ten councillors were elected out of these 41 candidates. Of them, 28 were affiliated with a political party, and 13 were independent. Seven incumbent councillors sought re-election: six from Vision Vancouver and one from COPE. Of those subsequently elected, Vision Vancouver held seven seats, the NPA two and the Green Party of Vancouver one.

Park Commissioners

Seven commissioners were elected out of 21 candidates. Of them, 15 were affiliated with a political party, and six were independent. Four incumbent commissioners sought re-election: three from Vision Vancouver and one from the Green Party of Vancouver. Of the elected commissioners, Vision held five seats and the NPA two.

School Trustees

Nine school trustees were elected out of these 20 candidates. Of them, 15 are affiliated with a political party, and five are independent. Seven incumbent trustees are seeking re-election: three from Vision Vancouver, three from COPE, and one from NPA. Of the elected trustees, five are from Vision Vancouver, three from NPA and one from COPE.

Capital Plan Questions

1. Are you in favour of Council having the authority, without further assent of the electors, to pass by-laws between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014 to borrow an aggregate $65,800,000 for the following purposes?

• Community Facilities at $58,600,000
• Parks at $7,200,000

2. Are you in favour of Council having the authority, without further assent of the electors, to pass by-laws between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014 to borrow an aggregate $66,300,000 for the following purposes?

• Street and Bridge Infrastructure at $41,150,000
• Transit and Safety Improvements at $8,500,000
• Street Lighting, Traffic Signals and Communications Systems at $16,650,000

3. Are you in favour of Council having the authority, without further assent of the electors, to pass by-laws between January 1, 2012 and December 31, 2014 to borrow an aggregate $47,700,000 for the following purposes?

• Public Safety Facilities at $13,200,000
• Civic Facilities at $34,500,000

Voter and party statistics

Voter turnout

Of the 418,878 registered voters, there were 144,823 recorded ballots, marking the voter turnout at 34.57%.^[7] This is an increase from the 30.79% turnout during the previous municipal election in 2008.

Elected percentage by party

Of the parties represented, only Vision Vancouver had its entire slate of candidates elected in all fields.

Seat changes by party

References

1. ↑ Capital Plan 2012-2014 at vancouver.ca
2. ↑ Spencer, Kent; Olivier, Cassidy (November 20, 2011). "Robertson leads Vision sweep". The Province. Retrieved November 23, 2011. 
3. ↑ O'Connor, Naoibh (November 21, 2011). "COPE's last man standing speaks". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved November 23, 2011. 
4. ↑ Thomas, Sandra (November 19, 2011). "Adriane Carr makes Vancouver city council history". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved November 23, 2011. 
5. ↑ Howell, Mike (November 21, 2011). "COPE infighting follows Vancouver election disaster". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved November 23, 2011. 
6. ↑ Carrigg, David (November 20, 2011). "Veteran left-wing COPE squeezed out of picture". The Province. Retrieved November 23, 2011. 
7. ↑ Percent Voter Turnout Calculations for BC Municipalities CivicInfo BC. Retrieved 2011-11-20

External links

• Vancouver Votes on city website