---
title: "Mike Klassen, ABC's only re-elected councillor, prepares for life as the lone opposition voice"
description: "Klassen secured the 10th and final council seat with 57,922 votes and says ABC failed to communicate its record while becoming too partisan."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/mike-klassen-abc-lone-councillor-october-29"
last_updated: "2026-10-29T23:57:09.589Z"
---

Mike Klassen won the 10th and final City Council seat on October 17 with 57,922 votes, making him the only ABC Vancouver councillor heading back to City Hall. In an interview with Daily Hive Vancouver published October 29, Klassen said his party failed its own record.

"I think that we did a poor job of communicating any achievements," he told Daily Hive. "And then, I think the criticism that we became too partisan is a fair one."

Klassen led the count at 41 of the city's 146 polling locations. He attributed his survival to decades-long community relationships and door-to-door canvassing that started in the spring. He first ran for council in 2011 and finished 13th, just 780 votes behind the last elected candidate that year.

## The Park Board question

Klassen pointed to ABC's push to abolish the Park Board as one of the term's biggest missteps. The effort, he said, "consumed far too much time and political capital" without reaching a resolution. Voters looking for a party that could execute on its priorities got a different picture.

He said the public safety plebiscite told a clearer story. The vote received over 207,000 completed ballots, and more than two-thirds supported both questions. Klassen told Daily Hive the result "tapped into how the public is feeling better than perhaps ABC did."

## One voice on a ten-person council

The incoming council has five Green Party members, four from COPE, and one from OneCity. Klassen will be the only ABC member at the table when Mayor-elect Pete Fry is sworn in on November 2 at The Orpheum.

He said he plans to support the new council when proposals make sense. He named supportive housing as one area where he is open, provided it includes the right services and is affordable for the city. He also said he would back a restored Renter's Office if it is run responsibly.

Where he will push back is on cost and scope. Klassen told Daily Hive he is concerned the new council may expand the city's responsibilities beyond what is manageable, at a time when streets, sidewalks, and community facilities already need work.

## Projects he supports

Daily Hive reports Klassen expressed support for a SkyTrain extension to UBC, keeping the Vancouver Whitecaps in the city, and a Major League Baseball bid. He called sports a source of civic pride and community excitement.

Asked whether the relationship with Mayor-elect Fry will be a working one, Klassen pointed to a friendship of more than 30 years. "If good things come forward from this Council," he told Daily Hive, "I'll be the first to cheer it on and cheer it loudly."

The new council is inaugurated on November 2, 2026, at The Orpheum Theatre. Residents can follow Klassen's voting record and promises on his [candidate page](/candidates/mike-klassen).

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