Frankly Speaking

Frank Bucholtz photo Fort Langley Community Improvement Society, which operates the historic Fort Langley Community Hall, hosted a candidate meeting for all 32 candidates running in Langley Township on Thursday. Martina Boyd was the moderator, while Andy Schildhorn and many other volunteers made sure it ran smoothly. There was a certain level of tension in the air.Thursday’s Fort Langley all-candidates meeting for the 25 candidates for Langley Township council was getting underway. Every candidate was seated, ready to go – except for the eight incumbent members of council. None of them were in the room. The meeting started, with moderator Martina Boyd explaining the ground rules to the candidates. There were more than 200 people packed into Fort Langley community hall. Many were standing. Just as she was about to draw for speaking order, the incumbents began to arrive. They had all been at another event at nearby Redwoods Golf Course. As luck would have it, the first nam...

Jinny Sims (top), newly-elected MLA for Surrey-Panorama, could be in the provincial cabinet should the NDP take power. If the BC Liberals remain in power, new Surrey-White Rock MLA Tracy Redies (bottom) could be in cabinet. We won't know which party will take power until sometime next week at the earliest, after absentee ballots are counted. As the uncertainty over which political party or combination of parties will form the next provincial government continues, it’s worth contemplating how the South Fraser and Fraser Valley regions will be represented in the new government. Of course, there need to be local MLAs in the cabinet. There also needs to be a strong commitment by cabinet and caucus members to work towards resolving important issues affecting communities in the eastern portion of Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley. This is the fastest-growing area of B.C. and has many pressing issues which require the attention of the provincial government. These inclu...