Vancouver byelection candidate criticized for sending emails to VPD officers asking for support

Ralph Kaisers is under fire for soliciting support for his council run by emailing cops whose contact information he acquired.

A Vancouver byelection candidate and former president of the Vancouver Police Union is facing scrutiny following emails he sent to some Vancouver Police Department members, asking for their support.

Ralph Kaisers, who is running for Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC party, sent the unsolicited correspondence to the personal email addresses of some VPD officers.

In the Feb. 27 email obtained by CTV News, Kaisers wrote: “After spending 33 years with the Vancouver Police Department, I know first-hand the challenges we face in keeping this city safe.”

“Now, I am stepping up again, this time as a city council candidate for ABC Vancouver, because we all know how detrimental anti-police politicians have been to our city.”

He then provides a call to action: “If you live in Vancouver, VOTE for ABC!”

‘I made a mistake’

The story was first reported by the Globe and Mail.

CTV News spoke with an officer who received the email and asked to be anonymous.

The officer said members are protective of their personal information and felt it was inappropriate.

CTV News asked Kaisers for an interview.

In a text message, he said: “I made a mistake. I apologized to the union, asked them to apologize to anyone who was upset by the email, and it won’t happen again.”

Mayor weighs in

Sim called it an unfortunate situation, but said it sounded like it had been resolved.

“We’ll just drive on,” he said. “Mr. Kaisers has served our city, protecting our city for over three decades and he loves this place and he wants to serve it going forward.”

In an email to CTV News, James Hubert, acting president of the Vancouver Police Union, said: “The union wants to make it clear that we have not authorized the use of members’ personal contact information for any political campaigning related to this election.”

“Protecting our members’ privacy is a priority, and we remain committed to safeguarding their personal information,” he added.

When asked how many emails Kaisers sent, Hubert replied: “Unfortunately, we haven’t determined that yet.”

Police and Politics

To participate in the byelection, Kaisers has taken a leave of absence from his role as union president, and said he will retire from the VPD if elected.

Under Kaisers’ presidency, the VPU endorsed Sim for mayor back in 2022, citing his promise to hire 100 additional police officers.

Stewart Prest, a lecturer and political scientist at the University of British Columbia, said Kaisers’ campaign attempt blurs the line between politics and police.

“If there’s a perception that that power is being used in the service of the supporters of one political party over another, that is a very dangerous place for the city to be in,” he said.

Kash Heed, a former police chief and current Richmond city councillor, said while Kaisers didn’t break any rules according to Elections BC, he thinks it was poor judgement.

“Police should remain apolitical regardless of whether or not it’s one of their officers that are seeking a political position or a former officer seeking a political position,” he said.