Residents of Richmond have elected Rob Howard as the city’s new mayor. The seat was open for a new candidate for the first time in 25 years after longtime mayor Malcolm Brodie announced he wouldn’t seek re-election. Howard’s campaign under the Richmond Forward banner featured a strong opposition to supervised injection sites in Richmond as part of a wider safer streets program. The idea of a supervised injection sites in the city became a hot-button issue for voters and candidates. “No more experiments. No more studies. No more injection sites,” he said, ahead of the election. It was Howard’s first time running for mayor, but he previously served as a city councillor in Richmond. He won a seat on council in a 2001 by-election before serving two consecutive terms, ending in 2008. Howard then shifted direction and was elected as an MLA for the Richmond Centre riding as a member of the B.C. Liberal Party in 2009. He didn’t run for re-election in 2013, and his vacant seat was won by Teresa Wat. Howard previously said his first priority as mayor would be a value-for-dollar review of city spending, examining how money is being used and whether services are worth their cost. Close call Howard defeated second-place candidate Alexa Loo by 880 votes. Former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed finished third in the race, 8,565 votes behind the winning candidate. Loo served as city councillor in Richmond for 12 years before her mayoral campaign and was running under the Richmond Strong banner. Ahead of the election, she told CTV News that residents were ready for change. Loo was also in opposition of a safe injection site and said what the city needed was more housing. She explained that council should focus on providing housing, ensuring people receive appropriate support, and maintaining cleanliness and safety in public spaces. Heed was also in opposition of bringing in safe injection sites but was among the councillors who co-sponsored a 2024 motion to explore the potential benefits and challenges of one such site near Richmond Hospital. Changing hands Brodie announced he wouldn’t run for mayor in the next election back in September of 2025, issuing a statement online. “We need someone to take over the mantle, move it forward, and take it into the future. So, I just felt that the time was right to take this step,” he said. “I am very grateful to all and will leave office fully confident that the mayors and city councillors of the future will preserve the legacies built over the years while they enhance the status of Richmond as an important urban centre in the province.” Brodie first served Richmond as an elected city councillor in 1996 and became mayor in 2001. With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Kraig Krause and The Canadian Press
