[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":292},["ShallowReactive",2],{"article-\u002Fnews\u002Fqueer-town-hall-mount-pleasant-september-25":3,"news-list":182},{"id":4,"title":5,"aiMetadata":6,"author":20,"body":21,"candidates":108,"category":115,"date":116,"description":117,"extension":118,"faq":119,"image":144,"imageAlt":145,"imageCheckedAt":146,"imageCredit":147,"linkedin":148,"linkedinPostUrl":155,"meta":156,"metaDescription":158,"navigation":159,"path":160,"primarySourceUrl":161,"publishedAt":162,"seo":163,"seoTitle":164,"sourceId":165,"sourceIsPaywalled":166,"sources":167,"stem":173,"storyType":174,"tags":175,"topicKey":180,"updated":155,"__hash__":181},"news\u002Fnews\u002Fqueer-town-hall-mount-pleasant-september-25.md","Six Vancouver 2026 candidates take questions at Mount Pleasant queer town hall",{"summary":7,"keyTopics":8,"semanticKeywords":14},"On September 25, 2026, The Tyee reported that six candidates running in the October 17 Vancouver municipal election answered questions from about 150 people at a queer town hall inside The Birdhouse in Mount Pleasant. Kareem Allam of the Vancouver Liberals and Rebecca Bligh of Vote Vancouver represented the mayoral race. Devyani Singh of COPE, Annette Reilly of the Green Party of Vancouver and Jarrett Hagglund of OneCity represented the council race. Allan Fawley of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver represented Park Board. The event was hosted by drag performer Ky Sargeant.",[9,10,11,12,13],"Vancouver 2026 queer town hall","The Birdhouse Mount Pleasant","Kareem Allam Rebecca Bligh mayoral forum","Devyani Singh Annette Reilly Jarrett Hagglund council","Allan Fawley Park Board",[15,16,17,18,19],"Vancouver election forum September 2026","queer town hall Mount Pleasant","The Birdhouse Vancouver candidates","Ky Sargeant drag host town hall","Vancouver municipal forum LGBTQ","voche.me editors",{"type":22,"value":23,"toc":100},"minimark",[24,28,33,67,71,74,78,81,85],[25,26,27],"p",{},"Six candidates running in Vancouver's October 17 municipal election took questions at a queer town hall inside The Birdhouse in Mount Pleasant, The Tyee's Phoebe Fuller reported on September 25, 2026. About 150 people attended what host Ky Sargeant had planned for 175, according to the paper. The panel talked about housing, artificial intelligence, the arts and safety, The Tyee reported.",[29,30,32],"h2",{"id":31},"who-was-on-the-panel","Who was on the panel",[25,34,35,36,41,42,46,47,51,52,56,57,61,62,66],{},"The Tyee named the six candidates on the panel. From the mayoral race, ",[37,38,40],"a",{"href":39},"\u002Fcandidates\u002Fkareem-allam","Kareem Allam"," of the Vancouver Liberals and ",[37,43,45],{"href":44},"\u002Fcandidates\u002Frebecca-bligh","Rebecca Bligh"," of Vote Vancouver. From the council race, ",[37,48,50],{"href":49},"\u002Fcandidates\u002Fdevyani-singh","Devyani Singh"," of COPE, ",[37,53,55],{"href":54},"\u002Fcandidates\u002Fannette-reilly","Annette Reilly"," of the Green Party of Vancouver and ",[37,58,60],{"href":59},"\u002Fcandidates\u002Fjarrett-hagglund","Jarrett Hagglund"," of OneCity. From the Park Board race, ",[37,63,65],{"href":64},"\u002Fcandidates\u002Fallan-fawley","Allan Fawley"," of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver. Every one of the six is on the October 17 ballot.",[29,68,70],{"id":69},"what-they-said-from-the-paper","What they said, from the paper",[25,72,73],{},"The Tyee reported four direct quotes from the stage. Allam said, \"From a national security perspective, we need AI data centres.\" Bligh said, \"Let's make sure the next government is not an ABC government.\" Host Ky Sargeant, opening the event, said, \"Why can't gay people ever show up on time?\" Community organizer Laurence Lewis Neal, in a line The Tyee also reported, said, \"What's nice about today is, yes, everyone's fired up, so what do we do?\" The paper adds one number that reaches beyond the room: 36 per cent voter turnout in Vancouver's last municipal election.",[29,75,77],{"id":76},"which-races-were-represented","Which races were represented",[25,79,80],{},"Two of the panelists sit at the top of the mayoral ballot in The Tyee's telling, one from the Vancouver Liberals and one from Vote Vancouver. Three run for a seat at the council table. One runs for Park Board. The School Board race had no candidate on the panel in the paper's list.",[29,82,84],{"id":83},"what-a-voter-can-do","What a voter can do",[25,86,87,88,94,95,99],{},"If you want to see a candidate answer questions in person before October 17, this site's forums page and each campaign's own events page list upcoming events. Advance voting places and hours are on the ",[37,89,93],{"href":90,"rel":91},"https:\u002F\u002Fvancouver.ca\u002Fyour-government\u002Fvancouver-2026-general-local-election.aspx",[92],"nofollow","City of Vancouver election page"," and on ",[37,96,98],{"href":97},"\u002Fwhere-to-vote","where to vote",".",{"title":101,"searchDepth":102,"depth":102,"links":103},"",2,[104,105,106,107],{"id":31,"depth":102,"text":32},{"id":69,"depth":102,"text":70},{"id":76,"depth":102,"text":77},{"id":83,"depth":102,"text":84},[109,110,111,112,113,114],"kareem-allam","rebecca-bligh","devyani-singh","annette-reilly","jarrett-hagglund","allan-fawley","Election news","2026-09-25","Six candidates in the October 17 Vancouver election took questions on housing, AI, the arts and safety at a queer town hall at The Birdhouse in Mount Pleasant, The Tyee reported.","md",[120,123,126,129,132,135,138,141],{"question":121,"answer":122},"When and where was the queer town hall?","The event was held at The Birdhouse, a queer arts venue in Vancouver's Mount Pleasant neighbourhood, The Tyee's Phoebe Fuller reported on September 25, 2026. About 150 people attended, and the article says host Ky Sargeant had expected 175. The Vancouver municipal election is on October 17, 2026, so this event fell three weeks before voting day.",{"question":124,"answer":125},"Which candidates attended?","The Tyee reports six candidates on the panel: Kareem Allam of the Vancouver Liberals and Rebecca Bligh of Vote Vancouver from the mayoral race; Devyani Singh of COPE, Annette Reilly of the Green Party of Vancouver, and Jarrett Hagglund of OneCity from the council race; and Allan Fawley of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver from the Park Board race. Each of the six is on the October 17 ballot.",{"question":127,"answer":128},"Who hosted the event?","Ky Sargeant, a drag performer, hosted, The Tyee reported. In one of the quotes the paper carried, Sargeant asked from the stage, \"Why can't gay people ever show up on time?\" The article names no organizing group beyond the host and the venue, so voche.me does not.",{"question":130,"answer":131},"Was Ken Sim there?","No. Mayor Ken Sim, who is running for re-election with ABC Vancouver, was not on The Tyee's list of attendees. Rebecca Bligh, on the panel, said from the stage, \"Let's make sure the next government is not an ABC government.\" That line is on the record because The Tyee quoted it, and it is her line, not a claim by voche.me about the sitting mayor.",{"question":133,"answer":134},"What did Kareem Allam say?","In one of the direct quotes The Tyee carried, Kareem Allam said, \"From a national security perspective, we need AI data centres.\" The article names artificial intelligence, housing and the arts as the topics discussed. He is the Vancouver Liberals candidate for mayor and appears on the October 17 mayoral ballot.",{"question":136,"answer":137},"What is The Birdhouse?","The Tyee describes The Birdhouse as a queer arts venue in Mount Pleasant. The article calls it a drag performance venue and notes that disco balls hung from the ceiling during the event. voche.me has no separate information about the venue and reports only what The Tyee reported.",{"question":139,"answer":140},"Where can I read The Tyee article?","The Tyee's article, by Phoebe Fuller with photographs by Dayna Finkelstein, is at thetyee.ca\u002FNews\u002F2026\u002F09\u002F25\u002FVancouver-Queer-Town-Hall. Every fact and every direct quote in this brief comes from that article, and voche.me added no interpretation of what the candidates said.",{"question":142,"answer":143},"How does this affect my vote on October 17?","The event is one of many candidate forums in the closing weeks of the Vancouver 2026 campaign. If you want to see a candidate answer questions in person, watch this site's forums calendar or the campaigns' own event pages. Vancouver holds voting day on October 17. Advance voting places and hours are on the City of Vancouver election page and on this site's \u002Fwhere-to-vote page.","https:\u002F\u002Fthetyee.ca\u002FNews\u002F2026\u002F09\u002F24\u002FTakeBackYourCityPanel.jpg","Disco balls hang from the ceiling of an event venue as an audience sits on folding chairs facing a panel of six Vancouver municipal candidates seated in a row on red folding chairs onstage","2026-09-25T15:00:25-07:00","Dayna Finkelstein for The Tyee",{"short":149,"long":150,"hashtags":151},"Six Vancouver 2026 candidates fielded questions at a queer town hall inside The Birdhouse in Mount Pleasant, The Tyee reported.","Kareem Allam, Rebecca Bligh, Devyani Singh, Annette Reilly, Jarrett Hagglund and Allan Fawley answered questions on housing, AI, the arts and safety at a Mount Pleasant queer town hall hosted by drag performer Ky Sargeant, The Tyee reported. Voting day is October 17, 2026.",[152,153,154],"Vancouver2026","VanElection","MunicipalPolitics",null,{"sourceName":157},"The Tyee","Kareem Allam, Rebecca Bligh, Devyani Singh, Annette Reilly, Jarrett Hagglund and Allan Fawley took questions at The Birdhouse in Mount Pleasant.",true,"\u002Fnews\u002Fqueer-town-hall-mount-pleasant-september-25","https:\u002F\u002Fthetyee.ca\u002FNews\u002F2026\u002F09\u002F25\u002FVancouver-Queer-Town-Hall\u002F","2026-09-25T15:05:00-07:00",{"title":5,"description":117},"Vancouver 2026: Six candidates at Mount Pleasant queer town hall","the-tyee:https:\u002F\u002Fthetyee.ca\u002FNews\u002F2026\u002F09\u002F25\u002FVancouver-Queer-Town-Hall\u002F",false,[168,170],{"label":169,"url":161},"The Tyee: At Vancouver's Queer Town Hall Under a Disco Ball (Phoebe Fuller, 25 September 2026)",{"label":171,"url":172},"voche.me: Where to vote","https:\u002F\u002Fvoche.me\u002Fwhere-to-vote","news\u002Fqueer-town-hall-mount-pleasant-september-25","reported",[176,177,178,179],"Mayor 2026","City Council 2026","Park Board 2026","Forum","vancouver-2026\u002Fforum","p7XP1Qtd7kGmaXRnvT3MQqXhVPG9hKUuPlGGKCJbcqo",[183,192,194,203,213,223,233,241,249,257,266,275,283],{"path":184,"title":185,"description":186,"date":116,"publishedAt":187,"author":20,"category":115,"tags":188,"image":191,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fken-sim-family-threats-video-september-25","Ken Sim posts video about threatening messages to his family","Mayor Ken Sim, running for re-election on October 17, released a video saying his wife received a threatening Instagram message, and citing a 2024 bomb threat and Halloween graffiti at their home, The Canadian Press reported through CTV News.","2026-09-25T15:15:00-07:00",[176,189,190],"ABC Vancouver","Harassment","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.ctvnews.ca\u002Fresizer\u002Fv2\u002FIHYV4DCQFRR3PC4YJ52NQ45O3Q.jpg?auth=0d6aba714dbe18de75f8ac929ce909c0bacb43f09bebf575b4e87252c68e3e90&width=1600",{"path":160,"title":5,"description":117,"date":116,"publishedAt":162,"author":20,"category":115,"tags":193,"image":144,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},[176,177,178,179],{"path":195,"title":196,"description":197,"date":116,"publishedAt":198,"author":20,"category":115,"tags":199,"image":202,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fvancouver-liberals-economic-agenda-september-25","Vancouver Liberals release five-point economic agenda for the city","Kareem Allam's Vancouver Liberals released a five-point 'Vancouver Economic Agenda' proposing UBC SkyTrain, demolition of the Dunsmuir and Georgia viaducts, absorbing UBC and the University Endowment Lands, adopting the B.C. Building Code, and merging 12 permit departments, Daily Hive reported.","2026-09-25T15:25:00-07:00",[176,200,201],"Vancouver Liberals","Platform","https:\u002F\u002Fimages-dh-production-baselayer.dailyhive.com\u002Fuploads\u002F2025\u002F06\u002Fkareem-allam-f.jpg",{"path":204,"title":205,"description":206,"date":207,"publishedAt":208,"author":20,"category":209,"tags":210,"image":212,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fpete-fry-hedy-fry-related","Is Pete Fry related to Hedy Fry? He is her eldest son","Pete Fry, the Green Party candidate for mayor of Vancouver, is the eldest son of Hedy Fry, the Liberal MP for Vancouver Centre. What each one does, why they sit in different parties, and what the family link does and does not mean for the October 17 ballot.","2026-09-24","2026-09-24T07:00:00-07:00","Election analysis",[176,211],"Green Party of Vancouver","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fpete-fry-hedy-fry-related.webp",{"path":214,"title":215,"description":216,"date":217,"publishedAt":218,"author":20,"category":209,"tags":219,"image":222,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fvote-splitting-2026-vancouver-mayor","Why 8 mayoral candidates could split Vancouver's progressive vote","How an April agreement among three parties, two September withdrawals and a mid-September poll changed the shape of Vancouver's mayoral race, and what it means for how you mark a ballot with 8 names on it.","2026-09-23","2026-09-23T07:00:00-07:00",[176,211,220,221],"OneCity Vancouver","COPE","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fvote-splitting-2026-vancouver-mayor.webp",{"path":224,"title":225,"description":226,"date":227,"publishedAt":228,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":230,"image":232,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fscott-gilbert-mayoral-candidate-profile","Scott Gilbert: the Downtown Eastside campaigner running to “end the nonsense”","A sourced profile of the independent mayoral candidate: what he says about his engineering studies and research work, his decade in the Downtown Eastside, his bus, his proposals, and what has not been checked.","2026-09-18","2026-09-18T07:00:00-07:00","Candidate profiles",[176,231],"Independent candidates","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fscott-gilbert-profile-2026.webp",{"path":234,"title":235,"description":236,"date":237,"publishedAt":238,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":239,"image":240,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fkareem-allam-mayoral-candidate-profile","Kareem Allam: the strategist who elected Ken Sim and now runs against him","A sourced profile of the Vancouver Liberals’ founder: his Richmond upbringing, 40 campaigns, three months as the mayor’s chief of staff, the defamation suit Sim filed against him, his lobbying work, and his 2026 promises.","2026-09-17","2026-09-17T07:00:00-07:00",[176,200],"\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fkareem-allam-profile-2026.webp",{"path":242,"title":243,"description":244,"date":245,"publishedAt":246,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":247,"image":248,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Famauri-caliman-mayoral-candidate-profile","Amauri Caliman: the independent who wants City Hall to publish its own scorecard","A sourced profile of the independent mayoral candidate: what reporting says about him, what he has submitted himself, his housing and accountability proposals, and how much remains unverified.","2026-09-16","2026-09-16T07:00:00-07:00",[176,231],"\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Famauri-caliman-profile-2026.webp",{"path":250,"title":251,"description":252,"date":253,"publishedAt":254,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":255,"image":256,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fken-sim-mayoral-candidate-profile","Ken Sim: the record of a first term, promise by promise and finding by finding","A sourced profile of the incumbent: his Vancouver childhood and business career, the 2018 loss and 2022 win, what happened to the 2022 promises, two integrity investigations, two defamation lawsuits, and ABC’s 2026 platform.","2026-09-15","2026-09-15T07:00:00-07:00",[176,189],"\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fken-sim-profile-2026.webp",{"path":258,"title":259,"description":260,"date":261,"publishedAt":262,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":263,"image":265,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fmuhammad-ahmad-mayoral-candidate-profile","Muhammad Ahmad: a first-time candidate with a new party and a rent-to-own plan","A sourced profile of Bright Future Vancouver’s mayoral candidate: his Lahore upbringing, his campaign-stated career, the party registered in January 2026, the Blueprint platform, and the questions a community group has raised.","2026-09-14","2026-09-14T07:00:00-07:00",[176,264],"Bright Future Vancouver","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fmuhammad-ahmad-profile-2026.webp",{"path":267,"title":268,"description":269,"date":270,"publishedAt":271,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":272,"image":274,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Frebecca-bligh-mayoral-candidate-profile","Rebecca Bligh: two parties, one expulsion, and a run for mayor","A sourced profile of Vote Vancouver’s founder: her New Zealand childhood, her consulting career, why she left the NPA, why ABC removed her, her national role at the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, and her 2026 promises.","2026-09-13","2026-09-13T07:00:00-07:00",[176,273],"Vote Vancouver","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Frebecca-bligh-profile-2026.webp",{"path":276,"title":277,"description":278,"date":279,"publishedAt":280,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":281,"image":282,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fpete-fry-mayoral-candidate-profile","Pete Fry: from Strathcona print shop to the progressive candidate for mayor","A sourced profile of the Green Party’s mayoral candidate: his family and design career, three losing campaigns before two wins, eight years in opposition, the criticism of his record, and what he promises.","2026-09-12","2026-09-12T07:00:00-07:00",[176,211],"\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fpete-fry-profile-2026.webp",{"path":284,"title":285,"description":286,"date":287,"publishedAt":288,"author":20,"category":229,"tags":289,"image":291,"updated":155,"linkedinPostUrl":155},"\u002Fnews\u002Fcolleen-hardwick-mayoral-candidate-profile","Colleen Hardwick: the councillor who said no, and what she promises now","A sourced profile of TEAM’s mayoral candidate: her family’s civic history, her film and technology careers, four years on Council, 250 abstentions, two election defeats, and her 2026 platform.","2026-09-11","2026-09-11T07:00:00-07:00",[176,290],"TEAM for a Livable Vancouver","\u002Fimages\u002Fnews\u002Fcolleen-hardwick-profile-2026.webp",1790375211984]