Vision Vancouver councillor Tim Stevenson will seek another term in council, despite his impaired-driving conviction. Speaking to the Straight, the two-term council member said he has "a lot to offer to the city".

Stevenson said that he has informed members of his caucus that he will seek the nomination of their party for a slot in its council slate in next year’s election. He also said that he’s hopeful that voters will look past his brush with the law in the same way that Gordon Campbell’s drunk-driving conviction in Hawaii in 2003 didn’t affect the political career of the B.C. Liberal premier.

"I was too mortified to come out," Stevenson said in explanation of why it took him more than a year to go public about the wrongdoing. He pleaded guilty before a court on July 16 this year, paid a fine, and had his driver’s licence suspended for a year.

Gay- and lesbian-rights advocate Jim Deva told the Straight that Stevenson’s legal trouble doesn’t bother the community. "We all have problems," Deva said. "Unfortunately, politicians have to deal with them openly, which I think he did. If anything, it’s a humbling experience for him."

Deva also said that Stevenson’s recent advocacy on housing rights has won him praise because "many gay and lesbian people are part of that homeless count".

Still, there are those whom the Vision Vancouver politician can’t win over, and these include LGBT-rights activist Jamie Lee Hamilton.

"It goes beyond the drinking and driving," Hamilton told the Straight. "That can happen to anyone. The fact that he deceived the public for as long as he did goes straight to his character. It’s a matter of public trust."

According to Hamilton, she stopped supporting Stevenson when he voted in favour of slot machines in Hastings Park during the previous city council’s term. She also said that Stevenson shares part of the blame for the breakup of the Coalition of Progressive Electors, of which he used to be a member.