The cat is officially out of the bag – former mayor Doug McCallum is once again running for the city’s top spot.
“Today I am announcing that I am once again running to become mayor of Surrey,” McCallum told the Now over the phone before his announcement Monday. “It’s time for leadership and to get things done for the people of Surrey.”
McCallum says his campaign has four top priorities: crime, city finances, transit and bringing a ward system to Surrey.
When it comes to crime, McCallum noted that “homicides increased 127 per cent between 2012 and 2013.”
“We need to have a proactive approach to fighting crime. We need to get out in front of crime before it happens.”
In March, Insights West released a poll that found 51 per cent of residents see crime as the number-one issue facing their city, well above transportation (18 per cent), poverty (six per cent) and education (six per cent).
McCallum said “crime festers in many parts of our communities and it starts in areas with petty theft, then break-and-entering starts, and then drugs start getting distributed, then gangs get involved and then homicides occur.”
He said officers need to be encouraged to get out into their communities in front of crime.
“We need to have them get out of their offices and spend their time in our communities in their patrol cars or on bikes.”
McCallum also calls on the city’s Chief Supt. Bill Fordy to “spend some amount of his time out on patrol, interacting with the public to get a feel for what the public’s thinking.”
If elected, McCallum also promises to hire more Surrey staff in the police department to provide support in the office work, and will encourage the fire department and bylaw officers to be out of the streets in a “proactive approach to driving crime out.”
In addition to calling on the police, McCallum is calling on the community to join in the proactive approach by volunteering for speed watch, foot patrols and bike patrols.
He notes that many in the community already volunteer, but he’d like to see double the amount of volunteers.
Council has approved 95 new officers over the next five years, but McCallum said if he’s elected, he will move to have them come on board in two.
When it comes to the financial picture at city hall, McCallum is not pleased.
“Debt has increased 40 per cent – or $70 million – between 2012 and 2013. We cannot keep going along that path.”
He described the new city hall, which he says will cost taxpayers a minimum of $150 million, is “a complete waste of taxpayers’ dollars.”
In his nine years as mayor, the city didn’t raise taxes, and says he is “fully committed to not having any increases down the road.” Instead he plans to “trim costs back” at city hall.
McCallum says to save money, he will also cancel the Surrey Regional Economic Summit, which he estimates will save both corporations and the city hundreds of thousands of dollars.
As well, he says there “won’t be any more trips,” referencing Mayor Dianne Watts coming under heat for international trips.
“There won’t be any trips unless they’re fully approved by council in open council. But I can say to you it’s my feeling, if I was mayor, that there won’t be any trips period. It’s time for action, it’s time to stay home and make decisions.”
He also plans to cut costs in the city departments, but promises not to lay off staff.
If elected, he promises to disband the Surrey City Development Corporation.
“Cities do not have a mandate to get out there and speculate in real estate or development. We need to have our government’s be and provide the simple responsibilities that they’re mandated to do.”
When it comes to transit, McCallum says the city needs to “start to lobby, very strongly, every week, every day, the federal government toward getting money toward Surrey’s light rail.”
The mayors’ council recently gave priority to the city’s light rail plans in its transportation strategy, but McCallum noted that’s only half the decision.
“The other half and probably the hardest half is to get the financing for it. And at that stage, they have fallen down badly,” he said. “On the financing, I will use my experience when I was with TransLink, where we started to build or built four major infrastructure projects in the five years that we were chairman. I had to work extremely hard with all three levels of government to get the financing for all four of those projects.”
McCallum said the financing should be split three ways – the provincial government, the federal government, and the final third from private sources or other organizations.
He also calls for more community buses in Surrey, in outlying areas such as Port Kells, East Clayton, Grandview and Campbell Heights.
For infrastructure, McCallum also wants to spend more money to maintain and build the city’s roads, and to “spruce of the landscaping” of the streetscape, which he believes will result in calmer driving and less speeding.
Finally, McCallum calls for a ward system – four wards which elect two councillors each, plus a mayor.
McCallum was first elected to Surrey city council in 1993 and became mayor three years later, defeating then-mayor Bob Bose.
He served as Surrey’s mayor for nine years before being defeated by current Mayor Dianne Watts in 2005.
The former mayor first popped back into the public eye earlier this year when he poked his head into the inaugural council meeting at the new Surrey City Hall, as reported by the Now, which he said was by accident.McCallum isn’t the first to show interest in the city’s top spot.
Newly independent Coun. Barinder Rasode is also considering a run at the mayor’s chair, and Coun. Linda Hepner is Surrey First’s mayoral candidate following Watts’ announcement she will not seek re-election.
Vikram Bajwa has also confirmed his intentions to run for mayor.
