NPA loses Vancouver Park Board candidate, Tricia Barker joins TEAM

Vancouver’s Non-Partisan Association (NPA) has lost yet another candidate ahead of the municipal election.

Incumbent Vancouver Park Board commissioner Tricia Barker announced Thursday that she had resigned as a candidate for the NPA.

“I just found that what I was hoping to accomplish in Vancouver and at the Vancouver Park Board … those issues I just wanted to find a team of people to work with so we can make sure we get a majority at the park board to make those things happen,” Barker told CityNews.

She says her decision came down to a number of factors — not one, single issue. It was not about ideological issues but rather about which team would help her accomplish her goals, she added.

“Our recreational and park spaces have impacted people so much over the last four years. We have to make sure they’re taken care of and what happens in those parks is what people are looking for. And I just had to find a group of people who were willing and ready to put those things in place so that we can have the parks that we need.”

"Today I gave the NPA Board my resignation as a Park Board Candidate with the NPA. I am grateful to the Board for the opportunity to run and the support they gave me during the 2018 campaign and my subsequent election as a Park Board Commissioner." 1/2 pic.twitter.com/LfpLc6ImZF

— Tricia Barker ???????????????????????????????????? (@TriciaBarker49) September 1, 2022

She and another now-former NPA candidate, Kumi Kimura, have joined TEAM For A Livable Vancouver for the upcoming vote.

In a statement, TEAM mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick says she is “thrilled” with the addition of the two park board candidates to the party’s slate.

“TEAM For A Livable Vancouver is thrilled to have Tricia Barker and Kumi Kimura both join us and our already impressive Park Board candidates to present a common sense alternative to city voters concerned about the future of the Park Board and our wonderful parks and recreation facilities,” Hardwick said.

She goes on to say that Barker “has been a voice of reason on a Park Board where the majority have so often been out of step with Vancouverites.”

Barker says she and Kimura “both left together” after lengthy discussions. She tells CityNews her decision was not related to the NPA’s recent mayoral candidate nomination.

NPA departures come after controversies

This is just the latest departure the NPA, which has been hit by a number of controversies, has had to deal with this election campaign.

Most recently, the NPA has come under fire for naming former West Vancouver police officer Fred Harding as its mayoral candidate. Much criticism has been leveled at the party over homophobic comments Harding made when he ran for the Vancouver 1st party in 2018.

Related articles: 

• John Coupar resigns as NPA Vancouver mayoral candidate

• NPA facing major criticism for ‘homophobic’ candidate

In a campaign video from that year, Harding expressed his opposition to school-based resources to help teachers and students with issues of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI).

Last month, John Coupar, who has also been at the centre of many controversies, suddenly dropped out of the mayoral race in Vancouver. At that time, he also did not provide a reason for his resignation.

Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, Sarah Kirby-Yung departed the party more than a year ago, joining the new ABC Party for the upcoming election. At the time, the female city councillors described the NPA as an “old boys club.” They left the NPA to sit as independents.

-With files from Charlie Carey