Vancouver firefighters’ union joins police union, endorses slate of election candidates

A second union for first responders in Vancouver has made the unusual move of endorsing a slate of political candidates in the upcoming municipal election.

Members of the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) Local 18 backed city council hopefuls from five political parties on Tuesday, including incumbent Kennedy Stewart for the top job as mayor.

The union endorsed incumbents Sarah Kirby-Yung, Michael Wiebe, Adriane Carr, Lisa Dominato, Jean Swanson, Christine Boyle, Pete Fry, and Rebecca Bligh for council, along with newcomers Iona Bonamis and Devyani Singh.

IAFF Local 18 was not available for an interview Tuesday, but on Twitter, said the list was the result of “much deliberation.”

The move comes about a week after the Vancouver Police Union (VPU) made the unprecedented decision to vouch for an ABC Party major at city hall.

The party’s mayoral candidate is Ken Sim, with Sarah Kirby-Yung, Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, Mike Klassen, Peter Meiszner, Brian Montague, and Lenny Zhou on the ballot as councillors.

“I think what resonated with the board as well as our members — (Sim) is the one that actually did make an announcement about hiring more officers,” explained Ralph Kaisers of the VPU.

“That’s part of the answer and part of the solution that we see to an issue that we have.”

5:46 Vancouver Police Union gets political

According to Mario Canseco, pollster and president of Research Co., endorsements “have a way of really not moving the voters much” if they aren’t consistent with their personal feelings and political leanings.

“It’s more about trying to figure out whether people are of the same attitude and same political persuasion as the voter himself or herself,” he explained.

“(Union endorsements are) part of the way campaigns are being run now.”

Voters across the province will cast their ballots in municipal elections on Oct. 15.