Three Sim allies file to challenge mayor in October Vancouver election

Rebecca Bligh, Colleen Hardwick and Kareem Allam have all filed nomination papers with the Vancouver election office for the October 17 mayoral race, each positioning themselves as a centre-right alternative to incumbent Mayor Ken Sim.

Bligh, who is running under Vote Vancouver, ran alongside Sim in both 2018 under the Non-Partisan Association and in 2022 under ABC Vancouver. Hardwick, running with TEAM for a Livable Vancouver, was elected councillor in 2018 as an NPA member. Allam, backed by Vancouver Liberals, ran ABC's 2022 campaign before becoming Sim's chief of staff. He is currently embroiled in a legal fight with the mayor: in a May 23-filed B.C. Supreme Court defamation lawsuit, Ken Sim alleges Kareem Allam and real estate developer Alex G. Tsakumis falsely accused him of drinking and driving.

Sim filed his nomination papers this week and is seeking a second four-year term. The September 11 deadline to file was looming; there had been speculation before the deadline that one or more challengers might not follow through.

Bligh held a news conference Wednesday on the grounds of city hall at Helena Gutteridge Plaza. "So before we get started, I just really want to clear something up," she told reporters. "And that is that this is a launch. This is not a farewell tour. I'm proud to be standing here today to launch the Vote Vancouver platform."

Bligh's path to this moment has been rocky. She was elected councillor in her first term as an NPA member in 2018, when Sim was the party's mayoral candidate. Kennedy Stewart won that race by a slim margin. In 2019, Bligh left the NPA, citing concerns over anti-SOGI beliefs and misogynistic comments tied to some of the new board of directors. She and Sim together helped form ABC Vancouver for the 2022 election. But in February 2026, ABC expelled Bligh. Stephen Molnar, ABC president, said in a statement: "time and again, councillor Bligh has shown that she is not a core value fit with ABC Vancouver. Rather than working with caucus to find common ground and advance solutions, she has chosen to put her own views ahead of the collective work of the team."

Bligh disputed the characterization. "And what I've experienced over the last two years is a shift away from that as a value that I believe ABC was about when we ran in 2022 to more of a top-down approach to policy," she said.