By Jennifer Wilson

On Tuesday, ProVancouver will officially launch its campaign for the 2018 election with mayoral candidate – financial planner David Chen – at the helm.

The party is branding itself, in its first press release, as a community based, grassroots alternative to the established parties.

“ProVancouver is founded on the belief that sound decisions do not need political ideology. The rigid political focus of the current government has disappointed the people,” the party stated in the release.

Chen told ThinkPol that his goal is pragmatic governance.

“Politics have forgotten this is not about the politician, it is about elected leaders serving the needs of the people. Not just the hot topic of the month but reconnecting with the people and truly having a grasp of what is happening with their pulse.”

Chen has previously been outspoken on the need for Airbnb regulation and reform of the RDSP -registered disability savings plan.

Before his mayoral aspirations were made public, in an article published by ThinkPol in November 2017, Chen is quoted as saying^[1]https://thinkpol.ca/2017/11/02/airbnb-will-grow-5x-in-vancouver-if-legalized-cfp-warns/,

“I consider myself kind of a nobody…just you know, fighting for the people in my community.”

The press release said that ProVancouver plans to focus on the following four platforms:

• Housing Affordability – review of the city’s tools and models to relieve the strain in finding affordable housing and re-balance initiatives to maintain growth
• Livability – bringing our city into the modern era and using technologies to enhance our everyday lives to the fullest
• Smart Administration – review efforts and policies to create better efficiencies
• Business Development – to re-balance economic development and increased attention to promoting the success of local small family owned business

Aside from that they aren’t giving much away until next week’s launch, however, ProVancouver’s media outreach coordinator Cindy Woodcock said in an email that she plans to respond early next week to ThinkPol’s request for information about the group’s funding, tangible strategies and membership.