Is it my imagination or is Andrea Reimer running for mayor of Vancouver?

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      Next year will mark the 10th year of Gregor Robertson being mayor of Vancouver. 

      This will make him the longest serving head of the the city in history, eclipsing the nine years that Louis D. Taylor and Philip Owen were mayor.

      It's raising questions whether Robertson will announce later this year that he won't seek reelection. This would leave other members of council to duke it out to become Vision Vancouver's next mayoral nominee.

      Here's the case for Robertson leaving

      • He knows that voters became tired of politicians like Jean Chrétien, Stephen Harper, Gordon Campbell, and Brian Mulroney after they spent a decade at the top.

      • He might be interested in tackling one more important job—perhaps an international position dealing with climate change—before gliding into retirement. His friend Michael Bloomberg could easily facilitate this.

      • An NDP minority government might appoint him to head a Crown corporation or some other position that could address issues close to his heart, notably urban transportation, reconciliation with indigenous peoples, and the environment. If John Horgan named Robertson to a high-profile post, it would boost the NDP's appeal to climate-conscious urban and suburban voters in advance of the next election.

      • His relationship with the daughter of a former senior municipal official charged with fraud in Harbin, China, could impair his reelection chances in a city that's becoming fraud-obsessed.

      Gregor Robertson has already delivered speeches at three Vision Vancouver election-victory parties.
      Yolande Cole

      Here's the case for Robertson running again

      • He likes being mayor of Vancouver.

      • He thinks that he's the only Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate who can keep his party in power.

      • He doesn't want to leave until senior governments give the green light to a Broadway subway and he sees real progress in addressing drug overdoses.

      Now, back to the headline on this piece. Is Vision Vancouver councillor Andrea Reimer running for mayor?

      She's a former school trustee first elected to council in 2008. So after 10 years in this position, she's probably in the mood to move up a notch.

      She's also one of the mayor's closest political allies on council and the one most wedded to his climate agenda.

      Robertson, with Reimer's strong support, spearheaded climate-adaptation measures, promoted cycling like no other mayor in B.C., and advanced the goal of making Vancouver 100 percent reliable on renewable energy by 2050.

      Raymond Louie and Andrea Reimer have worked well together on council, but could they be rivals next year for their party's mayoral nomination?
      Charlie Smith

      Louie is waiting in the wings

      Next week, Reimer is introducing a notice of motion to council for a Vancouver poverty reduction plan.

      Last month, she was talking about cleaning up False Creek to make it safe enough for swimmers next summer. 

      Hmmm...just in time for the November 2018 municipal election.

      These are the types of grand visions proposed by leaders of cities.

      They're not the less grandiose policies that Reimer has been associated with in the past, such as the engaged city task force or naming councillors as neighbourhood liaisons.

      If Robertson decides he's had enough of being mayor and Reimer chooses to run, she might face some competition from Coun. Raymond Louie.

      Had the NDP not fared so well in the B.C. election, perhaps MLA David Eby might have also sought to become Robertson's successor as mayor.

      So to answer the question posed in the headline: is Andrea Reimer running for mayor?

      I suspect that the answer is probably "yes". And if she receives the backing of Eby and his formidable political machine, she'll very likely win the nomination as well as the election.

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