Howard elected Richmond mayor, edging Loo

Updated 12:25 a.m. PT Oct. 18: Rob Howard was named Richmond’s new mayor with all polling stations reporting, according to Richmond News and Daily Hive. Our earlier report, based on 13 of 51 polls, described him as leading. Results remain unofficial.

Rob Howard of Richmond Forward was named Richmond’s new mayor Saturday night after a tightly contested race, according to Richmond News.

With all polling stations reporting, Howard had nearly 20,000 votes and Alexa Loo of Richmond Strong had nearly 19,000, with Kash Heed third, according to Daily Hive. The outlet did not publish Heed’s total or percentages. Results stay unofficial until the city’s chief election officer declares them.

Howard succeeds Malcolm Brodie, who is not seeking another term after 25 years as mayor, according to Daily Hive. Brodie won the 2022 race with 67.6 per cent of the vote, according to Poliwave.

Howard is a businessman and a former Richmond councillor and MLA, Daily Hive reported. His Richmond Forward platform includes shorter permit wait times, faster approvals for senior housing and a ban on supervised injection sites.

The earlier count showed Howard with 4,605 votes, or 33.4 per cent, to Loo’s 4,347, or 31.6 per cent, with 13 of 51 polls counted as of 10:04 p.m. PT. Those figures have been superseded. Final council results were not available in the reports we reviewed.

Elsewhere in Metro Vancouver, Green candidate Pete Fry was projected to defeat Mayor Ken Sim in Vancouver, and in Surrey, Doug McCallum was elected over incumbent Brenda Locke.

If you find reporting like this useful, consider supporting Canada News Media, an independent Canadian newsroom with no corporate parent.