COPE wins four council seats and 8 park board and 8 school board seats in Vancouver election
The Coalition of Progressive Electors won every office it contested, including Devyani Singh, Chloe Leslie, Sean Orr and 21-year-old Solomon Yi-Kieran on council.
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COPE won every office it contested in Vancouver's October municipal election, holding four of the ten council seats, eight on the park board and eight on the school board.
The council seats went to Sean Orr, Devyani Singh, Chloe Leslie and Solomon Yi-Kieran, who is 21. Orr topped his race, as did school trustee Suzie Mah. Singh is a climate scientist who was elected to council on Oct. 17.
Speaking to The Tyee, Singh said COPE is willing to work with whoever holds power, including the incoming Conservative government under Premier-elect Lorne Doerkson, whom she called "by all accounts, a decent guy on a personal level." Orr said two days after the vote: "We worked so hard for this... Yes, we have a very strong mandate, but at the same time, we represent all of Vancouver now."
COPE disagrees with the Conservative platform on the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, teaching about sexuality and gender identity, harm reduction and tax cuts, but is not picking fights yet. Areas of possible common ground with the province include SkyTrain expansion, more funding for school meals and voluntary mental health treatment.
The party last held this kind of footing in 2002, when Larry Campbell ran for mayor under its banner. HighOnCity reported on Oct. 10 that COPE and ABC clashed over Chinatown voting access ahead of the vote.
