Richmond Votes: Rob Howard elected Richmond’s new mayor

Chants of “Rob Howard, Rob Howard” rang out late Saturday at Lavash Seaside Grill as the Richmond Forward candidate was declared the city’s new mayor. The crowd at his watch party was jubilant when he was introduced as mayor-elect. Howard told supporters he was deeply honoured that Richmond residents had placed their confidence in him to serve as their next mayor, and promised to work hard every day to maintain that trust.

Howard said public safety was the issue he heard about most while door-knocking during the campaign. He said it would be his No. 1 priority upon taking office and that the city must pursue initiatives that make people feel safer.

He said he believes he can work with the newly elected council. Howard said he built his career working with all kinds of people. He had not had much time to review the names of those elected, he said, but some were people he had worked with before, and he thought he could work with them.

Joining Howard on city council are Gary Law, Carol Day, Michael Wolfe, Sheldon Starrett, Laura Gillanders, Kenny Chiu, Andy Hobbs and Kevin Lai. Law, Starrett and Lai belong to Advance Richmond; Day, Wolfe and Gillanders were elected under the RITE Richmond banner. Hobbs ran under Richmond United, while Chiu ran with the Common Sense slate.

Howard thanked the other Richmond Forward candidates, none of whom were elected. He said he was thrilled and honoured to win, but felt bittersweet because he believed the team that ran with him also deserved to be elected, and it was tough to see them lose.

Howard beat former councillor Alexa Loo by about 900 votes. Loo came to Lavash at the end of the evening to congratulate him. Former councillor and former VPD inspector Kash Heed finished third with just over 11,100 votes.

Heed said late Saturday that the journey had been difficult, but, from his point of view, it had made him stronger and more resilient on some issues. He said the result was disappointing, but that his accomplishments could not be taken away from him and that this was another journey. He congratulated the winners and thanked his supporters for their encouragement and love throughout the campaign. After his speech, supporters called out, “We love you, Kash.”

The elected school trustees are Ken Hamaguchi, Heather Larson, Rod Belleza, Danny Chang, Dean Billings, Alice Wong and Donna Sargent. Billings, Belleza and Chang ran under the Advance Richmond banner, while Wong ran with the Common Sense slate. Long-time trustee Debbie Tablotney was not re-elected.