Former Delta CAO Harvie plans to run for mayor’s seat

Delta’s recently retired chief administrative officer is preparing a run for the mayor’s seat.

George Harvie officially stepped down from his job as top bureaucrat — a job that he held for 18 years — on May 7, noting on social media that he was “looking forward to a change, but I won’t be going far.”

Harvie will run as part of a slate called Achieving for Delta, alongside five council candidates.

“The team name acknowledges George’s past achievements, and bridges his slate’s future achievements and continuing his record for success,” campaign team spokesman Micah Haince said.

Information about the other candidates on the slate will be revealed at an event at Tsawwassen Springs on May 22.

Mayor Lois Jackson has indicated that this is her last term and she will not seek re-election in the fall, leaving the seat vacant for the first time in almost two decades.

Jackson was elected mayor in 1999, after serving 26 years as a councillor. She was the first woman elected as councillor in Delta and the municipality’s second female mayor.

In March, Coun. Sylvia Bishop, who is serving her second term on council, announced that she would be running for mayor. She is part of a new slate called Team Delta, which includes Coun. Robert Campbell and three newcomers.