Vancouver Coun. Adriane Carr resigns, setting up 2-seat byelection
Carr's announcement follows resignation of Christine Boyle, who was elected to the B.C. legislature
Vancouver Coun. Adriane Carr has resigned her council seat, which she has held since 2011.
The Green Party of Vancouver councillor told media last year that she was considering resigning from one of two seats on council held by the Greens.
In October she expressed frustration with Mayor Ken Sim's decision to exclude her and fellow Green councillor Pete Fry from roles as deputy mayor, acting mayor and duty councillor. They were also excluded from the Metro Vancouver Regional District board.
Carr, 72, also complained about a "toxic" work environment at city hall.
On Wednesday morning she held a news conference at city hall to speak about her resignation, which takes effect immediately.
She said council, led by Sim's A Better City Vancouver party (ABC), hasn't made decisions that reflect good governance and prioritize climate action.
"On the big issues that are really important to me … I can't make much progress," Carr said.
"I have lost confidence and trust in the mayor."
One ABC councillor, Mike Klassen, attended Carr's news conference and commended her lengthy political career.
"She is somebody who has demonstrated a huge amount of passion around the climate issue, for sure," he said.
Klassen disagreed with Carr's assessment that the ABC-led council is not co-operative, listing climate-related motions and the city's United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) Action Plan as examples of collaborative work.
"Those are very important files and the things that we've been able to work on together," he said. "Politics are tough, you don't always get what you want and so disagreements and ... going different directions is just part of the the work. But at the end of the day, I think we're all very invested in the future of the city, especially its climate."
4-term councillor
According to her biography on the City of Vancouver website, Carr has taught at Langara College, and worked for the conservation group Wilderness Committee, which was founded by her husband, Paul George.
Carr said part of her decision to resign now was to spend more time with her family.
In 1983 she co-founded the Green Party of B.C. She is currently Vancouver's longest-serving councillor, having held the position for four terms.
Carr said one of her most memorable contributions on council was the development of the Vancouver Plan.
Approved by council in 2022, the plan guides the city's growth over the next 30 years and beyond with the aim of making Vancouver more livable, affordable and sustainable.
"It's the ability of people to make decisions at their local level around the kind of neighbourhood they want," she said.
Double byelection
Carr's resignation sets up the need for a byelection to replace two councillors in Vancouver.
Christine Boyle of the OneCity municipal party resigned as councillor in December after being elected to the B.C. legislature in October.
"My resignation will simply add another seat to the ballot," Carr said. "It will not cost the taxpayer any additional money. That was important to me."
There has been tension on council, and not just along party lines, as it has grappled with issues such as balancing housing starts against climate goals, the role of the city's integrity commissioner and eliminating the elected park board.
Seven city councillors are aligned with the mayor's ABC party. Boyle, Carr and Fry were the other three.
Political watchers say the byelection could signal an endorsement of ABC's direction by adding to its majority or have voters choose to replace Boyle and Carr with opposition voices.
City staff are working on a report to councillors for their first meeting of the year on Jan. 21 that would lay out a timeframe for the byelection.
That meeting will feature seven ABC councillors and Mayor Sim, with Fry as the single opposition councillor.
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