Surrey Election Results: Brenda Locke’s Priority Is To Rollback Police Transition As She Unseats Doug Mccallum As Mayor

A new mayor will take office in Surrey, and his primary objective will be to reverse the police transfer and reinstate the RCMP.

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With just 973 more votes than her opponent and 28% of the vote, Brenda Locke defeated a last-minute challenge from incumbent Doug McCallum to win the position of mayor-elect in the second-largest city in British Columbia. McCallum came in second with 27.3% of the vote, followed by Gordie Hogg in third with 21%.

Locke was only 600 votes ahead at one point Saturday night, well after the winning and conceding speeches had been made.

She will go to city hall with Harry Bains, Gordon Hepner, Rob Stutt, and Pardeep Kooner, four of her Surrey Connect councillors. Additionally elected to council were incumbent Linda Annis of Surrey First, who received the majority of council votes, newcomer Mike Bose, and incumbents Doug Elford and Mandeep Nagra of the Safe Surrey Coalition.

Locke claimed in her victory address that Surrey had chosen change.

You requested a significant adjustment, and boy did you get it. a significant shift in our city’s ethics, growth, public safety, and transit. large change

Locke proclaimed to the gathering, “Surrey rocks.”

“But even so, we still have work to do and a tough task ahead of us. To applause and whistles, she continued, “First and foremost, we need to keep the Surrey RCMP right here in Surrey.

Before leaving McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition, Locke was first elected as a councillor. He has vowed to keep the RCMP and stop the shift to a local police force. She developed into one of McCallum’s toughest detractors throughout her four years on council.

They made that choice tonight, and he stated, “I respect it because I respect the inhabitants of this beautiful city.”

“I do have a grin on my face as I stand here tonight because I’ve worked hard for the city for many years.

Maybe now is the right time for me to relax a little and take it all in.

When asked what he thought of Locke’s pledge to undo the police transfer, McCallum responded that the provincial government would make that choice rather than his opponent.

He remarked, “I’m not sure she can.

McCallum said he wasn’t sure how much the vote had been affected by the policing debate.

“There is a very vociferous group of people who are opposed to the switchover… I’m not sure if it made a major difference or not.

Surrey voters looking for change had a wide range of choices, including Locke and Hogg, as well as Jinny Sims, who finished fourth with 12.5% of the vote, and Sukh Dhaliwal, who finished fifth with 8.1%.

Because of this, analysts were reluctant to name a front-runner, despite polling data showing Locke with a modest advantage in the final week before the election.

The election campaign made extensive use of the policing issue as well as worries about home affordability, property tax rates, and government transparency.

In 2018, McCallum, who served as Surrey’s mayor from 1996 to 2005, easily defeated Surrey First’s Tom Gill by 17,000 votes. Additionally, his Safe Surrey Coalition gained seven seats.

The party made audacious suggestions including replacing the RCMP with a local police force and scrapping the approved LRT in favour of SkyTrain. Throughout his four-year administration, McCallum kept his word, although not without much controversy.

In response to concerns about transparency and the changeover of the police, three of his Safe Surrey councillors—including Locke—left the party.

After accusing a woman of driving over his foot with a car in a grocery store parking lot, McCallum is also charged with public mischief. Later this month, his trial is anticipated to start.

The now-retiring mayor pledged to construct a 60,000-seat stadium and finish the police changeover during the campaign. However, winning a second term appeared unlikely.

Speaking to the province about reversing the changeover will be among Locke’s first priorities on election night, she added.

She underestimated the challenge of rejoining the RCMP in a prior interview.

It is really a misnomer to refer to it as a reversal, she said. “The transition isn’t moving forward. The Surrey Police Service’s launch was unsuccessful.

Locke stated that the SPS officers who have already been hired are her main priority. However, she noted that any capital purchases, such as those for computers and cars, might be incorporated into the RCMP. She was also certain that the province would approve the modification.

She stated, “I have understood for a long time that this (the transition) would sink or swim based on this election and what Surrey has to say.

Although there will be changes at city hall, Surrey First has kept its seat on the board of education that oversees the biggest school system in British Columbia.

The Surrey First Education slate’s six currently serving school trustees all won reelection.

2022 Surrey South By-election

Final count for the Surrey South by-election is complete. The Chief Electoral Officer has declared Elenore Sturko elected as the MLA for Surrey South.

Final voting results are shown below. Preliminary voter turnout was 19.9%.

Expense Limits

Expense limits for political parties, candidates and third party advertisers in the Surrey South by-election are shown below.

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