RJ Aquino, OneCity Vancouver’s sole candidate, drew more than 30,000 votes in the new party’s first election.

After a brief break following the November 15 balloting, party organizers plan to convene to determine what the next four years will entail for the upstart civic group, according to Aquino.

“There’s a lot of reflection to do because we exceeded all of our expectations in terms of the number of votes we were able to get, as well as money we were able to raise, and we’re now looking at getting ourselves organized as a party and what activities to do, people to talk to, and further outreach that we need to do so people are aware that we’re in this for the long haul,” he told the Straight by phone.

Aquino noted that although 2018 is still a long way off, it wouldn’t be “far-fetched” for him to say yes to running again in the next election. He also expects to see OneCity run a larger slate next time around.

“How large, it really depends on what the next four years look like,” he said. “We have been in conversations with a lot of people that we feel would be strong candidates in four years.”

The party formed in May, and its organizing committee includes former members of the Coalition of Progressive Electors, with which Aquino ran for council in 2011. OneCity focused on issues like affordable housing and childcare during the campaign.

Aquino said his party drew support from former COPE and Vision supporters in addition to people who hadn’t previously been involved in municipal politics—a trend he expects to continue as the party aims to expand its reach.

“I think what I’m most excited about is that we were able to create a political home for people who want an entry into politics without feeling intimidated—an accessible way to get involved and talk about the issues and feel comfortable doing so,” he stated.

Aquino finished in 22nd place in the race for 10 council seats. The Cedar Party, another new slate, drew about 30,000 votes between its four council candidates, while the fledgling Vancouver 1st received more than 45,500 votes among its five council hopefuls.

Jesse Johl, the founder of Vancouver 1st, said the party plans to continue organizing via “word of mouth” over the next term. He expects it will run a full slate of candidates in the 2018 election.

"We’ve got four years now to get everything in place," he said in a phone interview. "I think we will probably be providing a very, very real alternative to all the parties out there."

Nicholas Chernen, who founded the Cedar Party along with his brother and fellow council candidate Glen, said the organization will continue. However, the siblings plan to pull away from the party and will instead aim to shine a light on city issues as citizens.

"We’re going to continue the work that we’ve started, and do it with our unique specialty, but separate from Cedar," Chernen, who was nominated this week to the board of the Marpole-Oakridge Community Association, told the Straight by phone.

He described competing with Vancouver's major political parties during the election campaign as a "tough battle".

"All of us were up against such a huge army of people on the streets, on the phones, or at computers sending e-mails...that was tough to compete against," he said.

"And then that goes right to the heart of what has to change, which is campaign finance reform and electoral reform, and if there’s campaign finance reform, you level the playing field."

Chernen added that he observed "strong relationship building" among non-Vision candidates during the campaign.

"I think you’re going to see some interesting conversations," he said. "What they look like and how they end up, I don’t know, but there is a lot of shared philosophy amongst the parties, and I think there’s something there that’s worth tapping into."