Meet the Surrey mayoral candidates
Residents of Surrey will cast their vote for one of eight mayor candidates on Oct. 15
There are eight mayoral candidates running in Surrey's municipal election. (Kyler Emerson/submitted/file photo)
Editor’s note: quotes have been edited for accuracy and clarity.
For the City of Surrey municipal election, there are eight candidates running for mayor. The Runner interviewed them about their campaigns.
Gordie Hogg – Surrey First
Why are you running for mayor?
I think the future of Canada sits right here. Surrey is growing faster than other cities, we have more land than Burnaby, Richmond, and Vancouver combined — we have tremendous potential. And we have been focusing on separations and differences instead of celebrating that commonality, that vision, that we can achieve together. That excites me enormously in terms of where we can be and what we should be doing, and how we should be putting that face forward.
Why should students vote for you?
They should vote, whether for me or anyone else. We had such a low turnout in Surrey at the last election, so we want to be a vibrant community and have people involved. We live in a great country and in a great city, and just because things aren’t going the way we want right now, even if they are, things can change, and we live in a place where those changes are just part of the opportunities we have. We should be blessed and thankful that we have those changes and be optimistic about the future, because there’s lots there for us to participate in and be a part of.
Jinny Sims – Surrey Forward
Why are you running for mayor?
I’m running to bring transparency and accountability to City Hall and to restore the integrity to the mayor’s office, which has been so badly damaged over the last four years. I’m also running to bring fairness at City Hall, because there are too many people who are feeling things are not fair at City Hall, and access to city services should not be dependent on whether or not you have a relationship with the mayor or a member of council. For me, it’s time Surrey has the city council that is focused on affordability for families, openness and transparency, and civic engagement.
Why should students vote for you?
One of the key things we can do is make public transit and housing a lot more affordable, and this is where we definitely plan to push hard on that. I’ve been a teacher, minister, MLA, MP, and we need someone who knows how to negotiate and bargain and fight to close a deal. I understand the challenges students are facing, and I know mental health issues are huge. We’ve got to make it easier for students to get around.
Sukh Dhaliwal – United Surrey
Why are you running for mayor?
I raised my family here, I’ve lived here for the past 25 years. This is the community that gave me my family, everything, and now when you see such a disaster of council, such divisiveness, putting one community against the other even in public safety, I thought Surrey needs leadership. We put a party together called United Surrey because we want to bring people together, we want to bring communities together, and unite our city team. I have the professional experience and political experience that is needed to bring the leadership to Surrey right now.
Why should students vote for you?
We need to work with the federal government to bring housing to campuses, and bring in more affordable housing units and produce more social housing that students should be able to have. There is a diverse number of international students that come from overseas who are not familiar with the system, there’s a cultural barrier, and we have to make sure there is a cultural hub that helps students. At the same time, that also helps the police liaison officers here as well, to help mitigate any issues students face. There is no place for discrimination in Canada.
Brenda Locke – Surrey Connect
Why are you running for mayor?
This is an important election, it’s important to Surrey. We have got to bring integrity and an honest government back to our city, and I think the last four years have been devastating for the city. We need to put hope back in the residents of Surrey and trust in their government.
Why should students vote for you?
Students, and I think everybody, should vote for me and our team because we care. We all live in Surrey. I think I’ve demonstrated in the last four years that I will stand up for the residents no matter what. I’ve come out quite loud against the current mayor. I brought up issues around racism and that we need to review systemic racism in Surrey. We have a young group on my team. We believe that we’re building the city of the future and that young people must be involved.
Amrit Birring – People’s Council Surrey
Why are you running for mayor?
My number one reason is government overreach, they want to take people’s rights. For example, with COVID-19 they did not respect people’s medical choice, and we always have a choice. It’s up to individual people what medical procedure they want, and those that stood for their rights lost their jobs.
Why should students vote for you?
Housing impacts everyone, students in particular have it hard. Some still live with their parents, they might delay moving out until they get into the job market, and there are those in school paying high tuition fees — which is worse for international students. I advocate for affordable housing so that students have money for other things. We also need affordable transit, building more infrastructure, so students have more flexibility.
John Wolanski – Independent
Why are you running for mayor?
I’m running for mayor to bring social justice to housing because we have to take care of the people rather than ourselves. We are all in this together. If we put policies forward so that people can have food security and housing first, then we can work on big projects because what we are doing is working on projects and not taking care of the little stuff.
Why should students vote for you?
Students should vote for me because I care about what kind of world we are leaving you. I understand my generation is putting a bill on students and that shouldn’t happen, we should be able to manage the debt so younger generations don’t have to pay.
Pelia Kuldip – Independent
Why are you running for mayor?
I’m not happy with the city. We have spent four years on a police transition and did nothing else. So, I wanted to have our own development of Surrey. I’ve been writing to authorities about how to do a better service. We need more buses in Surrey, they are overcrowded. We also need a better SkyTrain from King George to White Rock, or at least Highway 10.
Why should students vote for you?
I am the only one who has written for years about housing security for students in Canada. Students don’t have much housing in the city and the rents are very high. Students will depend on junk food, so I’m concerned about their health. That’s why I would declare everybody under 25 to have a free transit pass.
Doug McCallum – Safe Surrey Coalition
McCallum did not respond to interview requests.
