Former police chief joins city’s mayoral contest
After 47 years in policing, candidate says he wants to give citizens a louder voice
Change is afoot in Delta city politics, and former longtime police chief Jim Cessford wants to be in the middle of the action during this fall’s municipal election.
“I need to take it to the next level,” says Cessford. “I want to be mayor of Delta, to work with the community and deal with the issues.”
This week, Cessford will announce that he is taking his first run at a council seat, at the helm of the Independents Working For You slate. Two incumbent councillors — Bruce McDonald and Jeannie Kanakos — and two fresh faces will join him. The slate will also run three school board candidates, including board chairwoman Laura Dixon and two-term trustee Nick Kanakos. McDonald, Dixon, and Nick and Jeannie Kanakos, who are husband and wife, ran under the Independents Working For You banner in 2014.
“They’re all very strong leaders and they all have their own opinions about things and about what they believe is in the best interest of the community,” said Cessford. “When we’re talking about Independents Working For You, it was really important for me to get independent thinkers and people on who would do what they believe to be the best thing for this community.”
In February 2015, Cessford retired from a 47-year career in policing, 20 years of which he spent as Delta’s chief. Since then, he’s consulted, volunteered, coached and otherwise stayed engaged in the community — including unsuccessfully seeking the B.C. Liberal nomination for Delta South in the last election — but now he wants more.
Cessford said that in talking to residents, he has heard that they don’t feel they can bring their concerns to council, that no one is listening to them. He said he would like to bring the “no call too small” philosophy that he espoused as a police chief to the city.
“We talk about our vision as providing leadership to the community, being responsive and being responsible for our decisions, encouraging dialogue and being open and transparent with the community in the best interest of public safety, public health and a healthy community. That’s a huge thing for me,” Cessford said.
Residents have also told Cessford they don’t feel there is an overall vision or plan for Delta.
“We need to develop a plan — we have a vision,” he said.
Kanakos, a councillor for 13 years, said the team is made up of independent thinkers who have similar values.
“One thing we all agree on is our passion for our community, and our quality of life,” she said. “When it comes to issues, we respect where each other is coming from. At times, it will take a different approach, however I’m confident that with Jim’s leadership the big-picture pieces will be put in place for Delta.”
McDonald, who has been a councillor for 30 years, said he is looking forward to seeing new faces in the council chambers.
“I think it’s going to give us an opportunity to recalibrate,” he said. “We’ve done some really good things on council for years, but I don’t believe our outreach to the community and our ability to be totally transparent has been good enough.”
The slate also includes two council candidates who are new to municipal politics: Sandeep Pandher and Garry Shearer.
On the school board side, Dixon and Nick Kanakos will run with the slate alongside Delta District Parent Advisory Council chairman Joe Muego. Dixon said she appreciates the opportunity to build a close working relationship with council and give the taxpayers the best results. She said she spent time with Cessford when he was chief and believes he genuinely cares about people in the community.
The race in Delta will be one to watch, with three viable candidates for the mayor’s seat — this is the first year since 1999 that there has been no incumbent — and three vacant council positions.
“This is going to be big. This is going to be a sea change,” said McDonald.
Bishop was the first to announce her intention to run for mayor as the leader of Team Delta, which includes Coun. Robert Campbell and newcomers Joan Hansen, Kim Kendall and Simran Walia.
Last week, former chief administrative officer George Harvie officially announced his run for mayor.
Dan Copeland, Param Grewal, Alicia Guichon, Dylan Kruger and Cal Traversy will join him on his Achieving for Delta slate.
The municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 20.