Yes, No, and Maybe votes on housing

[Update: after the Broadway Plan vote, moved Melissa De Genova from Yes to Maybe. Also moved Adriane Carr from No to Maybe, based on the 1477 West Broadway and Broadway Plan votes.]

Municipal politics doesn't get a lot of news coverage, and municipal political parties don't have strong brands, so it's not easy to keep track of who to vote for.

For Vancouver city council, here's a summary of who consistently votes Yes on housing, who consistently votes No, and who's a Maybe.

Yes votes:

• Kennedy Stewart (Forward Together)

• Christine Boyle (OneCity)

• Lisa Dominato (A Better City)

Maybe votes (in rough order of likelihood to support):

• Melissa De Genova (NPA)

• Sarah Kirby-Yung (A Better City)

• Michael Wiebe (Green)

• Rebecca Bligh (A Better City)

• Pete Fry (Green)

• Adriane Carr (Green)

No votes:

• Colleen Hardwick (TEAM)

• Jean Swanson (COPE)

I'd really like to see at least two three more solid Yes votes on housing.

Some past decisions:

• June 2019, 4575 Granville, rental townhouses: failed, 4-7. Property owners of rejected Granville townhouse development now plan to build a 12,000 square foot house. Stewart, Boyle, Dominato, and De Genova voted in favour; everyone else voted no. (The applicant did eventually try again, and got a unanimous approval in October 2021.)

• July 2019, 3833 Fraser, six-storey rental building: passed, 7-3. Vancouver council approves new Fraser Street redevelopment with 121 rental homes. Carr, Swanson, and Hardwick voted against.

• December 2019, 1805 Larch, five-storey rental building with 20% below-market units: passed, 8-3. Vancouver council approves controversial Kitsilano five-storey rental project. Carr, Swanson, and Hardwick voted against.

• July 2020, 2538 Birch, 28-storey rental building with 20% below-market units: passed, 6-5. Here’s why and how Vancouver council voted on 28-storey tower for West Broadway. Of the Maybes, De Genova, Kirby-Yung, and Wiebe voted yes; Bligh, Fry, and Carr voted no.

• July 2020, Streamlining Rental Plan: postponed, 6-5. 'Postpone and delay' — Vancouver council defers rental-housing incentives. De Genova and Kirby-Yung voted against postponing; Wiebe, Bligh, Fry, and Carr voted to postpone. (Came back to council in November 2021, approved 10-1, with Hardwick opposed.)

• April 2022, 1477 West Broadway, 39-storey rental building with 20% below-market units: passed, 9-2. City Council approves 39-storey tower above SkyTrain's South Granville Station. Swanson and Hardwick voted against. During the meeting, Hardwick made a preliminary motion to postpone the decision: it narrowly failed 5-4, with Wiebe, Fry, and Carr voting against postponing, and Kirby-Yung and Bligh voting to postpone.

• June 2022, Broadway Plan: approved, 7-4. Vancouver council approves contentious Broadway Plan. De Genova, Wiebe, Swanson, and Hardwick voted against.

[Disclaimer: I’m now running for Vancouver city council with Forward Together, but I’ve aimed to be as objective as possible in the summary above.]