Voters opted for dramatic changes in Surrey and White Rock

The major changes in direction on Surrey and White Rock councils demanded by voters can be summed up in one word – “growth.”

Voters do not want growth, at least in the way it has occurred. They want growth which is managed and manageable. Above all, they want infrastructure which keeps pace with growth, and is not constantly overwhelmed by it.

Other issues flow from this – how best to follow the Official Community Plan in White Rock; what kind of rapid transit system is best for Surrey; how can people who move here be assured there is space in the schools; what type of police force makes the most sense in a fast-growing Surrey; how to better listen and respond to citizen concerns.

Doug McCallum accomplished a very rare feat on Saturday. After 13 years out of office, he is back as mayor, and his Safe Surrey Coalition elected seven of the eight councillors. One Surrey First councillor was elected. Not a single incumbent was returned to Surrey council – an unprecedented and dramatic turn of events.

What happened in White Rock is almost as historic. Darryl Walker, a novice to municipal politics but a veteran of union politics as past president of the B.C. Government Employees Union, and his Democracy Direct slate of four councillor candidates wiped out the White Rock Coalition slate, including four incumbents. The only two incumbents coming back are Coun. Helen  Fathers and Coun. Dave Chesney – both of whom have consistently argued against the direction White Rock council was going.

The two new mayors and their councils will have a lot of work to do. They’ve made big and dramatic promises which will not be easy to fulfil – particularly in the short term. The change of direction means that city staffs will need to be prepared to do a lot of things very differently.

Perhaps most challenging, but potentially most important, will be the roles they play on regional bodies. The Metro Vancouver board will have a completely new look. Outgoing chair Greg Moore of Port Coquitlam did not run again. Sixteen of 21 member municipalities have new mayors. Of the 40 existing Metro directors, just 15 were re-elected.

The Mayors’ Council, which rules on transportation projects funded by TransLink and thus is key to any change to SkyTrain in Surrey, will have just six returning members out of 23. It will also have a new chair. Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan, who has chaired the group this year, lost his mayor’s post Saturday.

McCallum actually has far more mayor experience than most of the mayors who will be part of that body, and served on the TransLink board at a time when it had locally-elected representatives.

Another point that SkyTrain naysayers such as outgoing Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner need to remember is this. It is true that the LRT project between Newtion and Guildford has received full funding from all levels of government.

However, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is up for re-election in a year, and Surrey has five Liberal MPS. Those seats may be crucial to his party retaining power. It is highly unlikely he will tell Surrey to get stuffed when it comes to how the federal portion of funding for rapid transit is used.

Premier John Horgan does not face such immediate pressure. However, one of his MLAs, Leonard Krog, was elected mayor of Nanaimo on Saturday. He will be resigning his seat, and if the NDP don’t win the byelection, the government may not survive much longer. Horgan too needs the six seats his party won in Surrey in 2017.

All levels of government need to heed the message voters sent. Manage growth better, and ensure that we have better infrastructure to deal with its effects.

One local government's makeup did not change at all. All six Surrey First Education trustees were re-elected to the Surrey Board of Education in Surrey, and incumbent trustee Laurae McNally was elected again in White Rock. Voters are clearly happy with the way they are dealing with the many challenges facing the Surrey School District.