William Azaroff exits Vancouver mayoral race and endorses Pete Fry

OneCity’s William Azaroff has withdrawn from the Vancouver mayoral race and endorsed Green Party candidate Pete Fry, saying progressives must unite behind a single challenger to unseat Mayor Ken Sim.

Azaroff announced the decision Tuesday, nearly a week after COPE candidate Stephanie Allen ended her campaign. He appeared with OneCity council candidates who will remain on the ballot and said the election’s stakes require a clear-eyed assessment of the race.

OneCity, COPE and the Green Party made a joint commitment earlier this year to support one challenger through a “Progressive Primary.” Fry emerged as the leading mayoral hopeful among the three parties in recent polling.

Azaroff said he had spoken with Fry several times and saw in his former opponent a commitment and desire to restore competence and ethics to the mayor’s office. Fry thanked Azaroff for what he called a difficult and courageous decision, and pointed to shared values among the parties.

Fry said he was glad to stand with friends at OneCity and COPE and said the parties would work to reverse what he described as the disastrous past four years of neo-conservative government at city hall.

OneCity council candidate and former journalist Frances Bula said Azaroff’s candidacy partly inspired her to enter politics. She said OneCity still intends to shape Vancouver policy through council and urged voters to pay attention to the party’s plan over the next 39 days.