Election paperwork filed with the city says eight Richmond candidates list residences outside Richmond, including candidates living in Vancouver, New Westminster and Surrey.
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Documents filed with the City of Richmond ahead of the 2026 civic election say six of the 55 candidates running for Richmond city council do not live in the city, and two of the 28 school trustee candidates also list residences outside Richmond.
Among the city council candidates who list addresses outside Richmond, municipal Conservative candidates Lisa Phillips and Oday Brahem live in Vancouver, while Louis Huang lists Vancouver and Hong Yan Melody Pan lists New Westminster. Another city council candidate, Milan Kljajic, also lists Vancouver as his residence, and Wallace Pong lists Surrey as his residence.
The paperwork also shows school trustee candidates John Zhang lists Abbotsford and Hongyun Chen lists Vancouver.
The documents further say Lawrence Chen, who lives in Richmond, is a declared trustee candidate in Richmond and Sechelt, which the source says is legally allowed.
David Denhoff, president of the Conservative Electors Association, said the party’s candidates have “strong ties” to Richmond and “a clear vision for an affordable, safe Richmond with an accountable city hall.”
Kljajic said he works in Richmond and has developed “strong professional and community ties” to the city, adding that in his role managing seniors and affordable housing—including LEMR housing—he works directly with hundreds of Richmond residents and deals with issues such as housing affordability, accessibility, building operations, community services and seniors’ needs.
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