Profiling Vancouver's political parties: TEAM Vancouver, led by Colleen Hardwick

Colleen Hardwick, to put it mildly, did not enjoy the last four years in Vancouver politics. 

"People said, 'why don't you stay on council?' You'd be a shoo-in to get re-elected," said Hardwick, who is attempting to go from council to mayor with her political party, TEAM for a Liveable Vancouver.  

"I'd say 'just shoot me now.'" 

Nobody on council was as consistently opposed to the big decisions the City of Vancouver made in the past four years as Hardwick. On 25 controversial motions analyzed by CBC News, Hardwick was the only person to vote against or abstain on every single one.

The chart has been shared widely during the election season and referenced by candidates in several election debates.

In an interview about her candidacy, it was suggested that while her opponents say it's proof Hardwick shouldn't be mayor, her supporters say — and here, Hardwick completes the sentence — "it's exactly why she should." 

'I understand what's broken' 

Aside from Hardwick, TEAM is running Cleta Brown, Sean Nardi, Param Nijjar, Grace Quan, Stephen Roberts and Bill Tieleman for council; Tricia Barker, Kathleen Larsen, Michelle Mollineaux, James Buchshon, Patrick Auldley and Kumi Kimura for park board; and Matiul Alam for school board. 

TEAM gets its name from the party that ran Vancouver for much of the 1970s, when one of their councillors was Walter Hardwick, Colleen's father. 

Given Hardwick's opposition to Vancouver's agenda over the past four years, some have argued her campaign is rooted in nostalgia for the city's past. 

It's a characterization she fiercely rejects. 

"I've learned from the past having grown up in the 70s and I understand what's broken," she said. 

"I'm trying to course-correct for the future because my ultimate objective is to ensure that my kids [and] grandchildren are not forced out of town."

TEAM's platform includes repealing the Vancouver Plan and the Broadway Plan, arguing the extra housing anticipated under those proposals are not needed and in fact would inflate home prices further. 

Instead, the party would spend $500 million toward building new co-op housing, make it easier to retain heritage buildings and create neighbourhood-specific zoning plans, which she said would give a meaningful voice to local residents.

"I listened to hundreds, if not thousands, of residents speak out at public hearings and they were completely ignored because the objective of the city was to approve those rezonings, to generate revenue, to fund council priorities," she said. 

'Why are we doing this?'

Hardwick argues the city has become too dependent on money from new developments, while simultaneously spending those revenues in areas of jurisdiction best handled by higher levels of government.  

"What I'd like to do is a deep dive into council priorities and the ones that we know have been downloaded and revisit them," she said.

"It's incumbent on us to get in and dig down and look at where those duplications are," she said.

On crime and safety issues, TEAM promises to create a Downtown Eastside commissioner and an audit of services in the area.

"We're throwing more and more money at it and it's just getting worse. So something is structurally wrong with what we're doing," she said. 

And on transportation, Hardwick says TEAM would push for more bus service across the city — but would likely retreat from plans to advocate for a Millennium Line extension all the way to UBC.    

"It's perpetuating a business model that is not in the best interest of the people of the city or in the region," she said.

"You've got to ask yourself, why are we doing this?"

It's a question Hardwick asks about almost all aspects of the city, and believes enough voters will agree with her on election night. 

"I can't think of anybody that's told me that they think the city is in a better position today," she said. 

"I still believe there is a path forward, but I think we need to course-correct. And I think it's achievable or I wouldn't be putting myself through this, frankly."

CBC News will be profiling all 10 political parties in Vancouver ahead of the municipal elections in October.