Ken Sim wins Non-Partisan Association Vancouver mayoral nomination
CBC News | Posted: June 4, 2018 12:28 AM | Last Updated: June 4, 2018
Vancouver businessman and founder of Rosemary Rocksalt bagels beat out Park Board Commissioner John Coupar
Ken Sim will be the Non-Partisan Association's mayoral candidate in Vancouver's October municipal election.
He defeated Park Board Commissioner John Coupar, and Glen Chernen at the party's nomination meeting on Sunday with around 50 per cent of the vote.
NPA President Gregory Baker says about 2,000 members voted in the nomination. 977 voted for Sim, 602 for Coupar and 379 for Chernen.
"Wow I wasn't really expecting that, this is incredibly humbling," said Sim after the results were announced.
Sim, a father of four boys, is involved in business and co-founded the company Nurse Next Door, which offers services to seniors living at home. He is also behind the bagel chain Rosemary Rocksalt.
Fix affordability
He said in a speech at the nomination meeting on Sunday that he got into politics to try and fix Vancouver's affordability crisis. He wants his children and other young people to be able to afford to stay in the city.
He has little political experience but said his business background has given him the skills required to run the city if elected.
The 2018 municipal election takes place on Oct. 20 and is considered to be an open race after three-term mayor, Gregor Robertson with Vision Vancouver announced he would not run again.
So far, Squamish Chief Ian Campbell has put his name forward for the Vision Vancouver nomination while Taleeb Noormohamed pulled out of the Vision race after a health scare.
SFU Centre for Dialogue director Shauna Sylvester and NDP MP Kennedy Stewart have both said they will run as independent candidates to prevent splintering the vote among the city's four progressive parties.