Frankly Speaking

The Miramar Village development by Bosa Properties was the first major high-rise development in White Rock. The number of high-rises planned has become an election issue in the seaside city. Photo from Bosa Properties An update: I was one of the moderators at a candidates' meeting for the councillor candidates on Oct. 2, sponsored by the South Surrey-White Rock Chamber of Commerce. Twenty of the 22 candidates attended. The issues discussed included revitalization, attracting business to White Rock, zoning and high-rises. The overall sense I came away with is that most of the candidates want to improve communication with residents and business owners, using both formal and informal methods. There are a lot of good choices for the next council - I urge those wanting to vote to check out websites, social media, the Peace Arch News, White Rock Sun and other sources. White Rock’s election is going to be fascinating. Two slates are going all out to control council, and si...

Voters lined up at the Whalley Legion hall to cast ballots in a Surrey election - probably about 50 years ago. Photo from the Surrey Archives. An update: There will be a meeting for the eight Surrey mayoral candidates tonight (Wednesday, Oct. 3) at Morgan Creek Golf Club in South Surrey. It is sponsored by the South Surrey-White Rock Chamber of Commerce. I will be involved as one of the two moderators. The meeting is open to the public, and starts at 6:30 p.m. I am planning to post a more detailed look at the candidates running in Surrey and the major issues of the campaign thus far. It will appear on this blog in the coming days, as I find time to do sufficient research. Surrey residents who are planning to vote will have to pick through 84 candidates running on 10 different slates, along with a large number of independents, when they go to the polls on Oct. 20. While the sheer number of candidates and slates may seem overwhelming – and it is – there are many good ...

Peter Fassbender's decision to run again for mayor of Langley City is one of the more noteworthy aspects of the municipal election campaigns in the two Langleys, thus far. This blog post has been updated to reflect the final list of candidates, after nominations closed on Friday. The upcoming municipal election in the two Langleys will be interesting, but not as lively as many other contests in the region. One reason is that there is not really much of a contest for mayor in Langley Township. Incumbent Jack Froese has two challengers, but neither (Alex Joehl and Anna Remenik) is well-known and it is unlikely he will get less than 70 per cent of the vote (assuming no other challengers come forward by Friday, the close of nominations). Seven of the eight councillors are running for re-election. They are Petrina Arnason, Michelle Sparrow, Blair Whitmarsh, Angie Quaale, Bob Long, David Davis and Kim Richter. Only Charlie Fox is retiring. As two of the challengers are ...

Lois Jackson has been an integral part of Delta council for 45 years, the last 19 as mayor. She announced Monday that she is seeking another term as a councillor in the Oct. 20 election. This post has been updated to include all candidates who filed nomination papers. Four years ago, Delta voters didn’t get a chance to elect their mayor. Longtime Mayor Lois Jackson won the post by acclamation – an extreme rarity in civic politics in most B.C. communities. Jackson had earlier said it would be her last term as mayor, and her civic opponents recognized here many years of service in a unique way. First elected as mayor in 1999, Jackson is the longest-serving municipal politician in Metro Vancouver. She was first elected to Delta council in 1973 – the first woman ever elected to council. And she may not be finished yet. She announced last week that she is seeking a term as a councillor – as part of the Achieving For Delta slate headed by former municipal administrator Ge...

The funds are in place to build the Newton-Guildford LRT line, but a number of candidates for Surrey council are questioning whether the line should be built at all. Even some of those supporting it, such as Coun. Bruce Hayne, are now wavering in whether a second LRT line along Fraser Highway should be built. Many members of the public want SkyTrain to be built in Surrey, instead of LRT. .   Nominations for Surrey council and Surrey Board of Education close Friday. Already, candidates for Surrey council are offering diverging perspectives to voters who are considering the merits of LRT vs. SkyTrain. Outgoing Mayor Linda Hepner hosted the prime minister and premier last week, as they once again announced that the Guildford-Newton LRT project was going ahead. Construction will begin in 2020, and the line will be in operation by 2024 – six years later than Hepner promised in 2014, when she was running for mayor. The costs are also rising significantly, due mainly to land ...