Vancouver's mayoral race is taking shape as a contest between Pete Fry and incumbent mayor Ken Sim, with Fry benefiting from a narrowing progressive field after withdrawals by candidates from OneCity Vancouver and COPE Vancouver.
Rival candidates Rebecca Bligh, Kareem Allam and Sarah Hardwick have all rejected the idea that their campaigns are spoilers. Bligh says she is running for what she calls Vancouver's ignored middle class, Allam says he draws support from both leading camps, and Hardwick argues the race is about who city hall serves.
Affordability, housing, small business and public safety dominate the platforms. Sim's promises include a zero per cent property tax increase, and the ballot also carries two non-binding plebiscite questions on public safety, including one on open-air hard drug use and another on converting part of the old St. Paul's hospital site into a secure care facility.
Candidates on all sides say polling has not changed how they campaign, and with the vote approaching, each camp is pitching itself as the viable alternative to lead Canada's third-largest city region.
