BURST
Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke has announced she is seeking re-election this fall.
Locke won a majority on city council with her slate, Surrey Connect, in the 2022 election, where she defeated then-Mayor Doug McCallum.
“With exciting opportunities and real challenges ahead, Surrey needs steady, proven leadership. I’m ready to continue that work with an even stronger team,” Locke said in a news release.
Joining Locke on stage at her announcement Thursday evening at a venue in South Surrey were current councillors who ran with her in the last election, and a couple of new faces.
Seeking re-election are Harry Bains, Pardeep Kooner, Rob Stutt and Gord Hepner. Joining them is Rona Tepper, a case worker for victim services at the RCMP, who is also the wife of Conservative party MLA Bryan Tepper (Surrey-Panorama).
Noemi Victorino, executive director of Harvest to Hope and a former senior officer of trade and compliance with the Canada Border Services Agency, also joined the slate. Victorino was a B.C. United candidate for Surrey-Guildford in 2024 before the party collapsed and merged with the B.C. Tories, which chose Honveer Singh Randhawa as the riding’s candidate.
Also running for mayor is opposition Coun. Linda Annis, with Surrey First. On the Surrey First slate again is Coun. Mike Bose. Former NDP MLA Mike Starchuk is also running for mayor under a new slate, Imagine Surrey.
McCallum has been rumoured to be considering running again, although the former mayor hasn’t made any official announcement yet.
While the members of Locke’s slate last election were all new to politics, the current mayor served as city councillor from 2018 to 2022 on McCallum’s Safe Surrey slate. The two butted heads on policing. Initially, Locke supported McCallum’s plan to replace the Surrey RCMP with a municipal force, but ultimately the issue was what caused her departure from Safe Surrey in 2019, making her an Independent.
A little while after that, Locke announced her new slate with fellow ex-Safe Surrey Coun. Jack Hundial, who later withdrew.
Locke ran and won in 2022 on her promise to stop the policing transition. While she won, Locke eventually lost her battle to halt the policing transition and was forced to follow through with the change after a lengthy court battle with the B.C. government.
The first three years of Locke’s term as mayor was embroiled in the policing debacle. While the current year hasn’t shown a complete pivot from the divide between Locke and the Surrey police, she has spent more time announcing new projects for the city.
“We must address challenges like the regional extortion crime wave, advocate for provincial and federal investments, protect property rights and support small businesses,” Locke said.
Other highlights from Locke’s term include her plan to build a 10,000-seat sports and entertainment arena in Central Surrey, increasing property taxes while still keeping Surrey on the lower end of taxes in Metro Vancouver, road improvements in some areas, plans to open two medical clinics much to the chagrin of her opposition, expanding recreation centres and starting the plan for a new Newton Community Centre.
Surrey is projected to have one million residents by 2050, according to the city, which would make it the most populous city in B.C.
“This is an exciting time of opportunity, but it comes with significant responsibilities,” Locke said.