The political strategist who was instrumental in putting Ken Sim in the Vancouver mayor’s chair is thinking about unseating him. Kareem Allam managed the campaign for Sim’s ABC Vancouver party when it swept to power on city council, park board and school board in the 2022 election. Allam was also Sim’s first chief of staff, until early 2023. He told theBreaker.news on June 9 that he was approached by a committee exploring alternatives to Sim. Allam said he was registering with Elections BC and opening a bank account to begin fundraising.
“I do want the job and I’m ready for it,” Allam said. “I’ve spent a large part of my career in public service, whether as a bureaucrat, whether as a political staffer.”
“I hope to bring a lens of affordability to every decision that gets made. [If] it doesn’t help seniors, doesn’t help students, doesn’t help working people and their families, I won’t do it.”
Allam said the result of the April 5 by-election sparked the exploration committee, which includes Margareta Dovgal, managing director of Resource Works. ABC’s candidates were the lowest-ranked of any party on the ballot. Two seats were filled by members of the left-wing COPE (Sean Orr) and OneCity (Lucy Maloney). Allam said Sim has nobody to blame but himself, breaking promises to make city hall more fiscally responsible, transparent and accountable.
“We’ve seen runaway tax increases without a notable increase in services, he tried to get rid of the Integrity Commissioner — while under investigation from the Integrity Commissioner — he tried to get rid of our democratically elected Park Board, which is something I’ve been vocal against,” Allam said.
Allam said the two biggest issues are the state of the economy and democratic institutions.
If a former B.C. finance minister with name recognition were to run, Allam said he would step aside. Same goes if Green Coun. Pete Fry steps forward.
“I think Pete’s got the integrity and leadership skills to do it, but — and I want to kick up a shit storm in the media — but, yeah, I’ve had that conversation with Pete and that if he does do it, I think he’s got the electability,” he said.
Allam also managed Kevin Falcon’s political comeback as BC Liberal leader in 2022. Falcon rebranded the party as BC United, but withdrew from the 2024 election in favour of the John Rustad-led Conservatives. Allam, however, joined the NDP during the election.
In May, Allam was a target of a Sim-filed defamation lawsuit, when Sim claimed Allam and developer Alex G. Tsakumis falsely accused him of drinking and driving.
Allam denied Sim’s allegations and called it “nothing more than a page out of Donald Trump’s book.”