Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is suing two men, alleging that they made defamatory comments against Sim.
The two suits include Kareem Allam, who is a political strategist, and was Sim’s former campaign manager and chief of staff, and Alexander George Tsakumis, a businessman and real estate developer.
ALLEGED COMMENTS
The lawsuit was filed in civil court, and according to the notice, Allam had said to Tsakumis that while Sim was driving under the influence, he was pulled over by Vancouver police. He was then let go without a citation or booking for this.
Tsakumis is reportedly active on social media, and the claim states that Allam relayed this story to Tsakumis “with the intent that Mr. Tsakumis could publish the statement to others, including on the internet.” Allam’s relaying was reportedly told in November 2023, not long after Allam’s termination from Sim’s team as chief of staff.
The suit goes on to claim that Tsakumis published a message on X on Nov. 23, 2023. This post included what Allam allegedly told Tsakumis, in that Sim’s drunk driving was not punished due to his influence.
Later, around June 2024, Allam then said to Annie Fournier– a member of Sim’s political party, A Better City (ABC)– that he had received a call from someone in Vancouver’s mayor’s office. This person went on to say that Sim had been pulled over for drunk driving, but it had been “taken care of” by a mayoral office individual and a VPD officer.
AN INVESTIGATION
This DUI cover-up was investigated for nine months beginning in late 2023. An external probe was ordered by the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner (OPCC). Two Mounties were tasked with the case and interviewed VPD officers, Allam, and Tsakumis, checked police databases, and listened to radio recordings.
The conclusion from the VPD’s chief constable’s report noted that the OPCC discovered “no objective evidence of an interaction between members of the VPD and [Sim]” that the post describes. Furthermore, it was added that he “considers this matter to be baseless.”
This lawsuit is confirmed to exist, as told by a spokesperson for Ken Sim, although he will not comment on it.
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