Tag Archives: mike klassen

#VanPoli | Vote for The MUST-ELECT Change Brigade At the 2026 Polls

#VanElxn 2026, #VanPoli Civic Politics, Politics, Vancouver, Vancouver Liberals, Vancouver Votes 2026, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kareem Allam as the Vancouver Liberals Mayoral candidate, and the 10 Vancouver City Council candidates whose names appear above represent Vancouver’s only hope for better; for an action-oriented government that will relieve your tax burden; build our city’s parks and recreation system; downsize the “managers managing managers” bloated bureaucracy at Vancouver City Hall; establish a blue ribbon panel to address the pestilence of the rat problem that bedevils our city, that is of so much concerns to residents in every neighbourhood across Vancouver; address street disorder and an out-of-control drug problem on the DTES in a humane, yet efficient and effective manner; spend money on our sidewalks that makes life difficult for seniors and persons with disabilities to traverse, and so very much more that is on the agenda of THE CHANGE BRIGADE asking for your vote.

Thinking of voting for Pete Fry for Mayor? Expect the same old, same old do nothing government that has defined every Vancouver civic administration this century. Rebecca Bligh. Same thing. Won’t achieve any more than a high single digit come Election Day. Colleen Hardwick. Puh-leeze. In a word, nightmare. Ken Sim. Undeserved second term.

You know what the difference is between Kareem Allam, and the 10 Councillors endorsed by VanRamblings? Every other person running for Council — although they might believe what they’re saying — are driven by ego, and what’s good for them, and not us.

The members of The Change Brigade are the only candidates for Vancouver City Council seeking a Council seat, because they believe in the good, that collectively as members of a Vancouver City Council committed to a civic administration of reconciliation that there is much good to be achieved.

In other words, The Change Brigade is in it for us, not for themselves.

Only the collaborative, achingly brilliant, ready to hit the ground running, man of vision who is a natural leader, Kareem Allam, possesses the wisdom and experience to be the best Mayor of Vancouver since the days of the Art Phillips.

Vancouver’s Government of Municipal Reconciliation Working for You

The 10 candidates whose names are listed above, the Vancouver Liberals’ achingly bright Kareem For Mayor and the 10 Council candidates endorsed by VanRamblings represent the 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 we have waited more than 25 years for, the ‘can do’ Zohran Mamdani crew who mean to make a difference …

• Remove pay stations from parks, beaches and in front of and nearby community centres, pools and hockey rinks, which means that the City of Vancouver will — with The Change Brigade in charge — finally get around to spending some of those billions of dollars that languish in the capital budget, monies that we approved in referendums in 2008, 2011, 2014, 2018 and 2022, election after election as the money just sits in the capital budget unspent, instead of being spent on us; • Broken Promises and Rising FOI Fees, means transparency and accountability is needed at City Hall. Vancouverites are facing rising Freedom of Information fees while trust in City Hall continues to decline;

• Reinstate the Livable Wage Programme at City Hall, that mandates suppliers of goods and services to the City must pay their workers a livable wage (approximately $28 today), that doesn’t cost the city a penny, but helps workers;
• Renew Vancouver’s 24 community centres, most of all, the 11 community centres identified by Vancouver Auditor General Mike Macdonell in his scathing report to Council on the “severe state of disrepair” of 11 of those community centres; • Cancel Ken’s $800m Second City Hall, wherein Ken Sim and ABC want to spend $800 million just to build more office space for managers;
• Build community pools in neighbourhoods across the city, water parks and hockey rinks;

Luxury Yacht Tax (40ft+), to protect essential services without burdening everyday Vancouverites, The Change Brigade will implement a tax on luxury yachts over 40 feet;

 • Faster, Cheaper Housing Construction, because Vancouver is the only city in BC with its own building code — an unnecessary extra step for people seeking to build more housing in our city. The Change Brigade, led by Kareem Allam and the Vancouver Liberals — working in concert with COPE’s Sean Orr and Solomon Yi-Kieran, One City’s Frances Bula, and the Greens’ Stephanie Smith — will remove the Vancouver Building Code and align our city with the rest of the province, simplifying the process for housing construction;
• Hold developers feet to the fire, by insisting Wesgroup finally get around to building the community centre they are contracted to build in the River District, or QuadReal to build their contracted Oakridge Park community centre, or Concert Properties, to build a much needed SE False Creek community centre they said they’d build ages ago; Build affordable housing, focusing on democratically run housing co-ops, built on City land, working with Thom Armstrong, Executive Director of both BC’s Co-operative Housing Federation and the Community Land Trust, with child care centres built into the newly-constructed co-ops;
Protect Good Jobs and Industrial Land, because Vancouver needs more good-paying jobs, not policies that put them at risk. Ken Sim’s plan to eliminate the city’s remaining industrial land threatens to push businesses and well-paying jobs out of Vancouver; • A Ward System for Vancouver, because Vancouver’s current at-large voting system makes campaigns expensive and leaves many neighbourhoods without direct representation at City Hall. The Change Brigade support exploring a ward system that would divide the city into local districts, each electing their own dedicated Councillor;
• Ban Bitcoin cryptocurrency ATMs on the DTES and take the fight to the drug dealers, not the street-level drug dealers, but their suppliers; • Work to rid our city of the pestilence of rats, that are of concern to residents in every neighbourhood across our city;
• Address homelessness in a humane and caring manner, consistent with the values of the vast majority of us who call Vancouver home; • The Change Brigade Noise Policy, because we’re tired of noisy hot rods and motorcycles revving up at 3 a.m. in our neighbourhoods. So are the members of The Change Brigade;
• Downsize a bloated middle management bureaucracy, at Vancouver City Hall, because do we really need 95 people working in Vancouver’s communications department, or employ more middle managers in our development services and planning departments than on the ground CUPE workers — like plan checkers — who do the real work?; • Reduce Taxes on Medical Clinics, because The Change Brigade means to cut property taxes in half for family doctors and walk-in clinics in the City of Vancouver;
• Build UBC-style Food Hubs across our city, to address food insecurity;

Build More Public Bathrooms, because Vancouver’s chronic lack of public washrooms not only fails to provide basic facilities to residents but could cause even bigger public health problems;

 • Build Supportive Housing for Seniors & Veterans, because supportive housing is a lifeline for seniors, veterans, and those with disabilities. On Day One, The Change Brigade will reverse Ken Sim’s cruel ban on supportive housing and ensure that our most-vulnerable citizens receive the supports that they need;
• Restore strong fiscal management, at City Hall; • Stop the Sale of Vancouver Parks, because Ken Sim and ABC’s Councillors who tried to eliminate the Park Board, Sim who is all about putting Vancouver’s parks up for sale. The Change Brigade strongly supports our elected Park Board, a democratic institution that protects our parks from being chopped up and sold off;
• Develop a methamphetamine strategy — the leading cause of violent incidents that puts people at risk — just like Premier Wab Kinew has done in Manitoba (a plan that is working!); • Establish an Industrial Land Reserve, because keeping jobs in the city and surrounding them with affordable housing so that people can build their careers and keep their families in our city;
• Protect local businesses during transit expansion, by reducing property taxes by 50% for the duration of construction;

Build more public washrooms, including within our parks (I mean, when the kids have gotta pee, they’ve gotta pee);

 • Support taxation on land value, by capturing the land-owner windfalls caused by proximity to public amenities, speculation, and zoning;
• Reinstate library funding and hours, cut by a heartless and cruel Ken Sim administration that have so weakened these vital public spaces and community services; • Bring back the Renters Office, with teeth this time to give tenants an advocate who is empowered to fight for them;
• Better Front-Line Services, which means across the board, city services are failing: more potholes, missed garbage pickups, dirty streets, and so much more. • Identify why progress towards city goals of affordability, families, renters, and climate has stalled or reversed under Ken Sim, and get back on course;
• Fight for campaign finance reform, to close the loopholes the wealthy can use to, effectively, buy politicians and elections; • Fight for a fast and free public transit system in Vancouver, and take steps on that path immediately;
• Bring in a municipal lobbying registry, because the public deserves to know how and when the wealthy are influencing decisions made by the city government; • Half of bus stops in Vancouver have no bus shelters or benches, so work toward changing that circumstance.
• Expand VanWifi across the city, to allow for more free and open internet access, prioritizing currently under-served areas; • Train and hire lifeguards and swim instructors, because we need to keep pools open and staffed, stop line-ups, offer swimming lessons to meet demand, and keep people safe at Vancouver’s beaches.

#VanPoli | Save a Vote for City Councillor Mike Klassen Come October

#VanElxn 2026, #VanPoli Civic Politics, BC Politics, Media, Park Board, Politics, Vancouver, Vancouver Votes 2026, VanRamblings, Web & Tech, , , , ,

Since 2004, Vancouver City Councillor Mike Klassen has acted in the role as webmaster of VanRamblings, the blog he created, commencing work over the holiday Christmas season in 2003, VanRamblings making its — perhaps inauspicious (but celebrated by the two of us) — début, on February 15, 2004.

“Raymond, you need a website,” Mike told me. “You have a voice that needs to be heard. You are one of the most opinionated people I know, and your opinions deserve a wider audience than just my ears, and the ears of your close associates. In the coming weeks, I will create a blog for you, in order that you might emerge as the difference maker you have long been over your many years working within Vancouver’s vibrant left community.”

And thus, VanRamblings was born.

I first met Mike Klassen in 1991 through my friend, legendary Vancouver broadcaster J.B. Shayne, at J.B.’s request having Mike tag along with J.B. and I to restaurants my editor asked me to review that week — at the time, I was a Vancouver restaurant critic, each week writing a restaurant review for the long gone, but hardly lamented east side community newspaper, The Highland Echo, as well as other publications.

Mike lived nearby my housing co-op in west Kitsilano, where he resided in a shared house just inside the eastern border of the Point Grey neighbourhood.

Mike Klassen and I have remained close ever since.

I know Mike Klassen to be one of the most honourable, kind, and most dedicated friend to the citizens of Vancouver people I have ever met. There is not a mean bone in Mike’s entire body; he simply won’t allow meanness and malice to be a part of his life. Ever.

That’s not who he is, nor has ever been, or will be.

Daniel Fontaine and Mike Klassen, creators of the well-read and respected CityCaucus online journal

I recall in 2009. when Mike had published a thoughtful story in CityCaucus, an invaluable and critically important online journalism, Mike and his friend Daniel Fontaine — currently a New Westminster City Councillor running to become Mayor of that city — had created to cover civic politics in Vancouver.

Unlike VanRamblings, which has not made comments on the site available for some time, CityCaucus was wide open to commentary from its many readers.

Mike had published a story about the Vancouver Park Board. I commented on the site in response to the Park Board story in a manner that was, in a word and not to put too fine a point on the matter, “mean“,  as I engaged in a form of character assassination respecting one of the Park Board Commissioners.

Soon after I submitted the comment, I received a call from Mike.

“Raymond, I’ve received your comment on the Park Board story I published a few minutes ago. To be perfectly frank, I find your comment to be untoward, malicious and mean-spirited, and I am simply not going to publish your comment on CityCaucus. I don’t mean to cause you offense, but vituperative commentary is not what CityCaucus is about, not now, not ever.”

That ought to tell you a great deal about the integrity of the man Mike Klassen.

For those who don’t know, Mike Klassen — at my request — in 2008 created former COPE City Councillor Tim Louis’ first website, a campaign blog.

At the time, Ifny LaChance, Tim, Tim’s partner Penny Parry, and I were co-managing Tim’s 2008 campaign for office. I felt Tim needed a website. At no financial cost to Tim or I, Mike set about to create a pretty skookum campaign website for Tim that I could post to throughout the campaign.

The four of us were all grateful for Mike’s fine work.

Vancouver City Hall | Photo credit, Mike Klassen (photo taken by Mike after a long day at Council)

I can tell you that this term of office, although satisfying for Mike in many ways, has not been an easy term of office, emotionally, for the good Councillor.

Early in his term of office, Mike chaired the Selection Committee that appointed all of the members of the 33 advisory committees to Council, working closely with Councillors Lisa Dominato and Pete Fry; in addition, again working with  Councillor Dominato, Mike and Lisa focused on creating more child care spaces across more child care centres — centres he and Lisa prioritized and fought for, creating more child care spaces in Vancouver during this past term of office than all previous civic administrations this century.

Still, Mike perseveres, unsung, doing the work of the people each and every day.

One morning, a couple of years back, when Mike was under constant — unwarranted, undeserved, and pejorative — attack by a particularly vocal group of ABC Vancouver opponents, as well as a couple of opposition Councillors, I spoke with Mike. I could hear the frustration and the hurt in his voice when we spoke.

That morning, Mike was ready to call it a day.

I asked Mike what his agenda looked like that day, what he would set about to accomplish,  an achievement that would be unlikely to receive press or recognition, but was meaningful to him. After a brief pause, Mike said …

“Awhile back, I met with an organic food producer in the Fraser Valley, and together we worked to create a programme wherein each week he would deliver organic produce to Theodora Lamb, and the Quest Non-Profit Grocery Market, both the Hastings Market and the Dundas Market, at no charge to the markets.”

I’m willing to bet you’ve never heard about this Mike Klassen-initiated programme that makes such a difference to the quality of life of so many families, and so many children growing up on Vancouver’s east side.

But that’s City Councillor Mike Klassen for you — the best man I know.

Know Your Local Ruling Class

#VanPoli | Kareem Allam

#VanPoli Civic Politics, BC Politics, Canada, Know Your Local Ruling Class, Politics, Vancouver Votes 2022, , , , ,

That handsome, despicable fellow you see pictured above is Kareem Allam.

We’re kidding. Honest. Just joshing. Sheesh, no one can take a joke these days.


Afford yourself the pleasure of listening to / watching B.C.’s most accomplished politico, Kareem Allam

Who is Kareem Mahmoud Abbas Allam?

Most political folks will recognize Mr. Allam as the architect of ABC Vancouver’s overwhelming victory at the polls on October 15, 2022, in that year’s decisive municipal election, where every ABC Vancouver candidate was elected to office.

Clearly, Kareem Allam is a master strategist, a superior motivator and a campaign manager par excellence, an individual who means to win, not necessarily at all costs, but still — and, if we might suggest, a man of principle and integrity who fights the good fight, in 2022 on behalf of the beleaguered citizenry of Vancouver.

In 2022, post pandemic, an irritated Vancouver public had become fed up with a do nothing, whiny, Kennedy Stewart-led (if in anyone’s wildest imagination, Mr. Stewart might have the appellation of ‘leader‘ applied to him) administration, where he worked within a disparate and wildly dysfunctional civic administration.  Mr. Stewart is, fortunate for us,  now back at the post from whence he came, as the defrocked and much mocked Simon Fraser University Political Science professor.

If you go to the Fairview Strategy website — where Mr. Allam is employed, Fairview Strategy an integrated public relations company which offers government relations liaison and expertise, communication, media relations, digital communication, Indigenous relations, and market research — you will read this …

With two decades of private and public sector experience in public affairs, Kareem has successfully leveraged his knowledge of people, policy and community into triumphant political campaigns at the municipal, provincial and federal levels.

Kareem managed the winning Kevin Falcon for BC Liberal Leader campaign and the ABC Vancouver municipal campaign, electing 19 out of 19 candidates, including Mayor Ken Sim. In 2023, Kareem achieved #9 status on Vancouver Magazine’s annual Power 50 list.

Kareem has served as a member of the Board of the Fraser Health Authority, and as a member of the Translink Screening Panel, among other appointments which serve the community interest.


Sarah Blyth, community advocate and organizer, founding member of the Overdose Prevention Society

Did we mention that Sarah Blyth holds Mr. Allam in the highest possible esteem?

One year ago, Mr. Allam left his post as Chief of Staff to Mayor Ken Sim. Suffice to say that Mr. Allam’s leave-taking — he was very unhappy — was none too pleasant.

Well worth watching and listening to the Hotel Pacifico podcast interview with Kareem Allam that you’ll find above — given that Mr. Allam will continue to be long into the future, a British Columbian of wit, intelligence, perspicacity and accomplishment, who will endure as an individual who will make a difference for the better in each of our lives, in the many, many years to come. Best to get to know Mr. Allam a little better now, to help provide a bit of context for your confounding life, and perhaps even inject a smidgen of hope for a better collective future for all of us.

ABC Vancouver | Friends, Loyalty and High Regard Count for Something

#VanPoli Civic Politics, BC Politics, canadian politics, Park Board, Vancouver, , , , , , , ,


Vancouver City Councillor Mike Klassen, elected to office on the evening of Saturday, October 15, 2022

Vancouver City Councillor Mike Klassen is, and has been for a very long time, one of VanRamblings’ closest, and very best friends.

Not to get too maudlin, but Mike Klassen is an executor of VanRamblings’ will — the other two: current Vancouver School Board trustee, Christopher Richardson, and former Vancouver City Councillor, Colleen Hardwick. VanRamblings’ ashes will be thrown off the side of Peter Armstrong’s yacht, which will be temporarily ‘moored’ just off Locarno Beach. Colleen, Mike and Christopher will be on board.


Mike Klassen. On January 17, 2024 as Vancouver experienced a cold spell and a 20mm dump of snow

All of which is to say three things, if you’re wondering where we’re going …

  • VanRamblings has known and been close friends with Mike Klassen for 30+ years;
  • In the interest of full disclosure, VanRamblings’ readers should be apprised that you will never, ever, ever read material on this blog that in any, way, shape or form disparages Mike Klassen — although we reserve the right, from time to time, to be critical of a policy decision taken by the good and honourable Councillor;
  • As VanRamblings expressed to Mike Klassen during the course of the recent holiday season: “I will not allow a disagreement on the future of Park Board, or any other policy issue that may arise, to disrupt or in any way interfere with our friendship.”

In VanRamblings’ world, loyalty counts for something; for a great deal, actually.


Vancouver City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung, who topped the polls on election day, October 15, 2022

For many years now, Vancouver City Councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung has been VanRamblings’ favourite political person in the province: a dedicated, exceptionally bright public servant, who works night and day for citizens (the hardest working pol we’ve ever experienced); and a politician who doesn’t always ‘play by rules’ — which we think, on occasion, is a good thing, a very good thing!

Sarah Kirby-Yung succeeded in having cetacreans — whales and dolphins — in captivity banned at the Vancouver Aquarium during her tenure as Vancouver Park Board Chairperson, despite the fact that the initiative was contrary to the policy of the political party she ran for office with in 2014.

Even in light of the current contretemps surrounding the Park Board ‘abolition’ issue that has caused VanRamblings much consternation, and about which we have been writing endlessly in recent days, our affection, regard and respect for Sarah Kirby-Yung has not lessened one iota — although, in the interest of transparency, we will write that Vancouver Kingsway MP Don Davies has (unknowingly) worked hard in recent days, weeks and months to displace Councillor Kirby-Yung from her august position as VanRamblings’ favourite political person in the province.

Of course, VanRamblings is hoping saner heads prevail at Vancouver City Council, that Councillors Kirby-Yung and Klassen will lead the charge to convince Mayor Ken Sim that the time has come to “pull a Doug Ford” — which is to say, reverse his shameful position on eliminating an independent, elected Vancouver Park Board.


Today, 9 a.m., Jan. 25, 2024 | Mayor Ken Sim announces transition team that will lead to abolition of an elected Park Board. Pictured: Mayor Sim, Sarah Kirby-Yung, Brian Montague, Lenny Zhou, Mike Klassen


ABC Councillors: Lisa Dominato, 2nd term on Council | Rebecca Bligh, 2nd term, Vancouver City Council

ABC Vancouver Councillors Lisa Dominato, initially Non-Partisan Association Councillors, who switched party affiliations to join the nascent ABC Vancouver civic party seeking office, are serving their second term at Vancouver City Hall.

VanRamblings has known the principled and accomplished Lisa Dominato dating back to the autumn of 2017, when she was elected to the Vancouver School Board as a Board of Education trustee in a by-election that year. A strategic leader with 20 years experience in government administration, public policy, communications and stakeholder relations, Ms. Dominato was responsible for the construction and implementation of British Columbia’s SOGI 123 programme, which provides guidance to educators across our province to help make schools more inclusive and safe for students of all sexual orientations and gender identities (SOGI).

Rebecca Bligh is a passionate supporter of families, education and the environment who championed Vancouver’s diverse and inclusive communities in her first term of office — as she continues to do today — dedicating herself to helping make Vancouver a more livable city, while serving to address the affordability crisis and issues around public safety and the poisoned drug crisis, working in concert with her colleague, Lisa Dominato. Both make an invaluable contribution to our city.

On balance, VanRamblings believes ABC Vancouver had a good first year in office.

The ABC Councillors also brought a welcome civility back to the Council chambers.


Vancouver City Councillor Brian Montague | Lenny Zhou | and Vancouver City Councillor Peter Meiszner

All 10 Councillors and the Mayor worked as a team over their 12 months in office, arising from the expressed desire of Mayor Ken Sim to work collaboratively with “opposition” Councillors, One City Vancouver’s Christine Boyle —  who is having herself some kind of (great) second term —  and Greens Adriane Carr and Pete Fry.

There’s a tendency to dehumanize our elected officials — as if they’re not members of our larger family — to criticize the individual rather than the policy, to engage in the politics of character assassination over reasoned, thoughtful debate.

Was VanRamblings happy when the ABC Vancouver Councillors collectively decided to undo our City’s Livable Wage Programme, mandating that suppliers of goods and services to the City pay a living wage to their employees, currently in the $24-an-hour range? Absolutely not. We thought it was an abomination.

Which is to say, when you have a City Council where the average annual Councillor salary tops well over $100,000, it’s not just bad optics but borders on the inhumane, when you —  as a majority ABC Vancouver Council — set about to cut the wages of working people struggllng to get by in Canada’s most expensive city.

VanRamblings realizes that the 36.3% of the Vancouver electorate who bothered to turn out at the polls in October 2022 to elect a new Vancouver City Council, did not cast their ballot the way they did to please VanRamblings as their priority for a new Council. ABC Vancouver won fair and square (unlike Donald Trump, we’re not given to saying things are ‘rigged’ when events don’t unfold as we might wish).

Dan Fumano, Postmedia: ABC Vancouver returns $116,000 in prohibited donations from 2022 election

VanRamblings will continue to be critical of our city’s majority ABC Vancouver City Council, involving their collective decision to attempt to eliminate a cherished 133-year-old environmental institution, the Vancouver Park Board. At no point, though, will we publish rhetoric that dehumanizes our ABC Vancouver elected officials.