Sim’s Controversial Comms Director Out After Just Three Months

Just three months after coming on board as Mayor Ken Sim’s communications director, Harrison Fleming is no longer employed by the City of Vancouver, The Tyee has learned.

Fleming came to Vancouver after working for former Alberta premier Jason Kenney and the Conservative Ontario government.

His Kenney-era style of political communications — where he repeatedly took to social media to mock and belittle opponents — immediately came under scrutiny in Vancouver, where voters tend to favour left-leaning or centrist municipal parties.

Sim’s party, A Better City, or ABC, swept into power in 2022. The party has focused on supporting business, hiring more police officers to address crime and safety concerns and reducing regulations to get housing built faster. But they’ve also promised to hire more mental health workers and have been outspoken about supporting the rights of LGBTQ2S+ people in the face of anti-trans rallies.

Pete Fry is one of three opposition city councillors, along with fellow Green Coun. Adriane Carr and OneCity Coun. Christine Boyle. Fry believes that Fleming’s past work with the very right-wing Kenney and Ford administrations didn’t fit with ABC’s softer image.

“You don’t want your comms guy becoming the story,” Fry told The Tyee. “They’re trying to appeal to a mainstream progressive base, and he became a political liability.”

Sim’s chief of staff, Trevor Ford, confirmed to The Tyee that Fleming no longer works for the mayor’s office, but declined to comment “on personnel matters.” Fleming did not respond to requests for comment sent by text message and voicemail.

Not only did Fleming’s past social media behaviour come under scrutiny, but Sim also filed a code of conduct complaint against Boyle for comments her party made about Fleming’s style of communications when he worked for Kenney.

For instance, Fleming was the author of tweets that targeted NDP leader and former Alberta premier Rachel Notley in a sexist way, calling her “unhinged,” “sad and angry” and a liar over and over again.

The city’s integrity commissioner, Lisa Southern, ruled that Boyle had crossed a line in promoting her party’s comments that Fleming was Kenney’s “top internet bully.” Boyle apologized publicly for the comments.

“It was a little out of line,” Fry said of OneCity’s comments, especially because the city’s code of conduct has special protections for city staffers.

“But that said, I think it’s fair game to make comments reflecting on someone’s track record.”

While Sim won the complaint, it came just days after a previous code of conduct ruling — also filed by Sim against Boyle — that targeted comments she made about an in-camera vote regarding ABC’s decision to do away with the city’s living wage program. Boyle had given several media interviews after the decision had become public, based on legal advice she’d gotten from the city.

Sim lost that complaint, but Boyle has previously told The Tyee she was worried ABC will continue to use code of conduct complaints to try to silence opposition councillors.

Fry said the living wage complaint was particularly “insidious” because Sim rejected an attempt to mediate that complaint and bring it to a close.

“Taxpayers ended up paying [Boyle’s] legal fees, because it was a frivolous extended complaint,” Fry said.

“That is in itself a form of bullying.”