Standing against the backdrop of Vancouver’s bustling port, Vision Vancouver mayoral candidate Gregor Robertson announced the fruits borne from his latest courtship with Metro Vancouver’s Asian community, as he continued to rack up strategic alliances with the city’s various ethnic groups.

Having recently cinched the Filipino vote, Robertson warmly accepted the Khalsa Diwan Society’s endorsement and pledged to champion causes most important to all South Asians.

"As the leader of Vision Vancouver, and hopefully your future mayor, I accept this endorsement with a commitment that I ensure . . . the issues that are concerns to the South Asian community are not only raised but actions are taken and that consultation is provided," he said at a press conference in downtown Vancouver Monday.

Robertson, the Happy Planet juice company co-founder and fifth generation British Columbian, has built a solid platform to attract marginalized groups, from the Filipino community which typically has been missing-in-action in civic and provincial elections, to environmental advocates, often derided for their religious-like drive in pushing sustainability to the top of the political agenda.

Welcoming the South Asian community under Vision Vancouver’s multicultural umbrella, Robertson is becoming a formidable contender in the November 15 elections.

Joginder Singh Sunner, general secretary of the powerful Khalsa Diwan Society, a Sikh-run immigrant services group, praised Robertson for making a solid effort to include South Asians in municipal politics, an arena generally void of a solid South Asian presence since university professor Setty Pendakur was elected to the TEAM slate in 1972.

Roberston’s commitment goes beyond photo ops and newspaper ads, Sunner said.

"The current NPA council has done very little to engage our community," he explained. "And no amount of Punjabi lessons for (Mayor) Sam Sullivan or (Non-Partisan Association mayoral candidate) Peter Ladner can change this fact."

Riding the political wave swelling behind Robertson, Kashmir Dhaliwal, president of the Khasla Diwan Society and the Ross Street Gurdwara, announced his candidacy for a Vision Vancouver city council nomination.

Admitting that he is no policy expert, he said he is an ordinary citizen with real concerns and hoped to be the go-to guy for Vancouver’s forgotten communities.

"I am upset that 90 per cent of candidates over the past five elections have lived north of 41st Avenue," he said.

"We need somebody to represent the south side of the city . . . which often has no representation."

Dhaliwal said while initially hesitant to enter politics, over the years he has become aware of critical policy issues that have been forgotten by consecutive municipal governments.

These, he said, include affordable housing, crime rates within the South Asian community and an exorbitant amount of red tape for small businesses.

As president of the Ross Street Temple, Dhaliwal said he sees no conflict of interest, and vowed to check his political aspirations at the temple door.

Council members of South Asian descent historically have been missing at City Hall, even though they comprise Vancouver’s second largest minority.

By running on a platform that speaks to all ethnic groups, without alienating the mainstream population, both Dhaliwal and Robertson said they hope to succeed where others have failed come November 15.