Itsa国际传媒檚 not every day you see a civic slate calling for legislation enabling the recall of council members but thatsa国际传媒檚 what the Safe Surrey Coalition is doing.
Some political rivals are questioning the motive.
The SSC issued a press release Wednesday morning to announce itsa国际传媒檚 calling on B.C. Minister of Municipal Affairs Anne Kang to introduce such legislation, sa国际传媒渋nspired by Albertasa国际传媒檚 model.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檝e seen the need for such legislation in the face of governance challenges in Surrey and other jurisdictions,sa国际传媒� SSC Coun. Doug Elford stated in the press release.
sa国际传媒淩ecall legislation would empower citizens and ensure elected officials are fiscally responsible and keep property taxes affordable. Mayor Brenda Locke campaigned for this, but her leadership has been called into question due to ongoing issues at Surrey City Hall.sa国际传媒�
The SSC suggests a recall threshold of 50 per cent of the total votes cast for an official. sa国际传媒淭his isnsa国际传媒檛 just about Surrey,sa国际传媒� Coun. Mandeep Nagra stated in the press release. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 about ensuring all municipal leaders in B.C. are accountable to their constituents.sa国际传媒�
Former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum, who was defeated by Locke in the 2022 civic election, is also quoted in the press release.
sa国际传媒淢ayor Lockesa国际传媒檚 refusal to adequately fund the police service, her spending on partisan political advertisements with taxpayer dollars, and her reckless decisions leading to increased property taxes are exactly why we need recall legislation. Residents deserve the right to hold their leaders accountable,sa国际传媒� McCallum said.
Locke dismissed this as sa国际传媒渏ust a distraction by them. I think the real issue is they donsa国际传媒檛 like our position on the police transition.
sa国际传媒淐ertainly lots and lots of people talked about it (a recall mechanism) under McCallumsa国际传媒檚 administration,sa国际传媒� she recalled. sa国际传媒淭o me this is just another one of their silly little distractions.sa国际传媒�
Surrey Connect Coun. Harry Bains noted theresa国际传媒檚 a lot of arguments for and against recall legislation. sa国际传媒淥ne of the arguments against it is always that itsa国际传媒檚 going to be weaponized and I feel thatsa国际传媒檚 whatsa国际传媒檚 happening here, that can be used as a weapon against elected officials. As elected officials, sometimes we have to make unpopular choices, we have to make choices that are hard, we have to be the adults in the room and we have to do so for the good of the city.sa国际传媒�
Bains said the use of recall legislation to attack politicians might in the long run make it impossible for elected officials to make the right decisions because they might be unpopular. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 a huge concern when yousa国际传媒檙e an elected official and your sole duty is to take care of the city and represent the city that yousa国际传媒檙e elected in.sa国际传媒�
Coun. Linda Annis, of Surrey First, said shesa国际传媒檚 surprised there isnsa国际传媒檛 already recall legislation for civic elected officials other than if they are criminally convicted. sa国际传媒淭o me, it should be aligned with what we do provincially and federally,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淵ou know, if wesa国际传媒檙e not doing our job and the people arensa国际传媒檛 happy there should be a process in place. They shouldnsa国际传媒檛 have to wait four years to voice their opinion. I think itsa国际传媒檚 just good practice for any elected official anywhere sa国际传媒� we need to be held accountable.sa国际传媒�
Coun. Gordon Hepner, of Surrey Connect, said hesa国际传媒檚 not against legislation for recall but said when itsa国际传媒檚 used to try to change the political direction of a politician through legislation, sa国际传媒渢hatsa国际传媒檚 not democracysa国际传媒hatsa国际传媒檚 just a weapon in order to get the way thatthey see fit, not that the public saw during the time at the ballot box.
sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 politicking and weaponizing legislation,sa国际传媒� Hepner added. sa国际传媒淲e are a democracy. I am sure that there are many people inSurrey that thought that would have been handy in McCallumsa国际传媒檚 time in office.sa国际传媒� He added it might have sa国际传媒渋n fact come in handywith all the chaos around McCallum.sa国际传媒�
Locke echoed that, charging that the SSCsa国际传媒檚 sa国际传媒渕ismanagement, their lack of financial accountability,sa国际传媒� is the reason why the city isin the position it is today sa国际传媒渁nd theysa国际传媒檙e saying that somehow we should be the one to take the hit for their mismanagement fromthe beginning. Itsa国际传媒檚 truly the pot calling the kettle black, I cansa国际传媒檛 think of a truer description of this.
sa国际传媒淭his is pretty rich, pretty rich on their part.sa国际传媒�
Coun. Rob Stutt, also of Surrey Connect, doesnsa国际传媒檛 think the SSCsa国际传媒檚 request to Kang meets the criteria of a public interest in this case. sa国际传媒淚n this particular case I guess we have to get back to the elephant in the room. In this particular case the reason that wesa国际传媒檙e in the situation that wesa国际传媒檙e in is because of the Safe Surrey Coalitionsa国际传媒檚 poor decision-making.sa国际传媒�
sa国际传媒淚 would suggest that their attempt to influence Minister Kang has nothing to do with the genuine interest of having recall legislation at the municipal level,sa国际传媒� Stutt said. sa国际传媒淚f there was provision for recall of municipal officials theresa国际传媒檚 a strong likelihood that mayor McCallum would not have finished his term. Isa国际传媒檓 thinking careful what you wish for, because if that legislation hadsa国际传媒檝e been in effect as long as it has been for the other levels of government, he probably wouldnsa国际传媒檛 have survived his term.sa国际传媒�
