Surrey voters still like Watts
Ex-mayor would handily beat McCallum if she runs for office, poll suggests
Dianne Watts laughs when asked whether she would consider jumping back into Surrey municipal politics for the next election two years from now.
But Watts, who served as the city’s mayor for three terms, hasn’t completely closed the door on the possibility. “I don’t have any plans at this point in time of running for mayor. But you know, over the years, I’ve learned never say never,” Watts said on Wednesday.
A new poll conducted by Pollara Strategic Insights for the National Police Federation shows that if Watts did decide to run in Surrey again, she would handily beat current Mayor Doug McCallum.
When asked who they would support between McCallum and Watts, 55 per cent of those surveyed said they would vote for Watts, compared to 27 per cent for McCallum. Eighteen per cent said they would vote for another candidate.
Watts said she is flattered that her name was included in the poll.
“I think where the difference in percentage comes from is that I have always been a big proponent of consultation on issues, and just making sure that the general public is engaged, so they know what’s going on,” she said. “I certainly know through speaking to many people in my daily life that there is now a feeling out there that there’s no openness and transparency on issues, that the general public has been shut out.”
Watts was particularly popular with those over the age of 55 (71 per cent), and the majority (55 per cent) of respondents age 35 to 54 said they would vote for her. A majority of both males and females said they would prefer Watts. She also had the edge with the SouthAsian community — 48 per cent said they would vote for Watts over McCallum (36 per cent). McCallum has more support among voters age 18 to 34, with 42 per cent favouring him.
“In order to fully understand the mayor’s current standing amongst voters we wanted to measure where he stood amongst the public in terms of vote intent, but we needed an opponent,” said
Pollara president Craig Worden. “So, we chose Dianne Watts because she’s a high-profile leader in the area and a popular past mayor.”
Coun. Jack Hundial, who left McCallum’s Safe Surrey Coalition last year, wasn’t surprised by the poll results.
“I think she would make a better leader than McCallum, first of all, and that’s been demonstrated in their track records,” Hundial said.