Vancouverites have had a little over a year to get to know Mayor Ken Sim and his A Better City Vancouver party, who currently hold a majority on city council.

They’ve delivered some campaign promises (100 cops, but not 100 nurses). Plus some goodies that have excited locals, like the return of the Stanley Park miniature train.

They’ve also made strong moves that came swiftly and suddenly. In April, the city and the Vancouver Police Department conducted a “street sweep” of homeless residents on Hastings Street that cost over half a million dollars. Most recently, Sim and ABC councillors have rushed to permanently dissolve the city’s 135-year-old elected park board, a surprise decision that has created a rift with the party’s own commissioners who sit on that board.

These actions have offered some insight into the first-time mayor of a brand new political party, one that swept into power last year with messaging on public safety and a savvy campaign that ran a full-ish slate of candidates amidst a confusing crowd of contenders.

However, the curveballs — including property tax hikes from a mayor who previously criticized such a thing — leave many questions remaining about what the city might look like in the next three years under the ABC government.

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