Surrey mayor quitting two months after saying she would run again
Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner, who leads B.C.’s second-largest city, will not be running for re-election in this fall’s municipal election.
Hepner, who is in her first term as mayor, made the announcement in an emailed statement on Tuesday evening. She’s the ninth Lower Mainland mayor to say she won’t run in October’s elections.
According to the statement, after some soul searching, Hepner realized that she needed to give her family higher priority than the city.
“For 33 years, the City of Surrey has been a chosen priority in my life, and I have been honoured to serve the people of this city,” she said.
“During my time with Surrey, the city has evolved from a modest suburb into the region’s second metropolitan centre and a globally
recognized, leading edge city. I am very proud to have contributed to this transformation, but there will always be more to do, more to achieve and, therefore, there is never an ideal time to leave.
“I sincerely believe that now is the right time to dedicate more time to my family and friends.”
But sources told Postmedia late Tuesday that there’s been a deep divide over Hepner’s leadership within the Surrey First party, which Hepner and all eight councillors represent. Hepner’s announcement came after she met with councillors at a Surrey hotel on Tuesday evening.
And it’s an abrupt reversal for Hepner, who asserted in an interview with Postmedia in February that she was going to run for one more term as mayor.
She said at the time that she had more to accomplish and wanted to see through some big decisions.
“I think we are now right on the cusp of the kind of evolution that will see Surrey take its rightful place as the ‘Future Lives Here’ city I believe we are,” Hepner said in February.
“That’s why I’m running again.” Hepner plans to serve out the rest of her term, during which she will see through two major decisions: final approval of the second phase of the Metro mayors’ 10-year plan for transit and transportation, which will include construction of at-grade light rail in Surrey, and the city’s housing action plan.
Hepner has been in public ser- vice for 33 years, including two decades as a senior city staffer, nine years as a councillor and one term as mayor. She ran for mayor under the Surrey First banner, a party she helped form with former Surrey mayor Dianne Watts.
Hepner wasn’t made available to answer questions on Tuesday evening. She’s expected to provide further comment on Wednesday morning.
Surrey-Cloverdale Liberal MLA Marvin Hunt, who spent many years on Surrey council after being first elected in 1987, ruled out a run to replace Hepner as mayor.
“I made a decision five years ago, which I confirmed a year ago to the good citizens of Surrey-Cloverdale, that I’m here to serve them in Victoria,” Hunt said Tuesday.
“No, I will not be running for the mayor’s chair in Surrey. But I’ll certainly be supporting (Surrey councillor) Tom Gill if he chooses to run.”
Hepner joins a long list of Lower Mainland mayors who have said they are not running for re-election in October.
Mayors who have said they are not running for re-election include: Darrell Mussatto (City of North Vancouver); Richard Walton (District of North Vancouver); Gregor Robertson (Vancouver); Greg Moore (Port Coquitlam); Ted Schaffer (City of Langley); Nicole Read (Maple Ridge); Wayne Baldwin (White Rock); and Lois Jackson (Delta).
Led by Hepner, the Surrey First party swept the 2014 election.
Hepner, who collected 50,782 votes — finishing far ahead of opponents Doug McCallum at 27,985 and Barinder Rasode at 21,764 votes — took every Surrey First councillor with her to city hall. The list includes Gill, Judy Villeneuve, Barbara Steele, Mary Martin, Bruce Hayne, Dave Woods, Mike Starchuk and Vera LeFranc.
The party spent nearly $1.2 million on the 2014 municipal campaign, primarily from corporate donors, according to campaign disclosure statements.
The amount was almost triple the money spent in total by Hepner’s two competitors.
Contributions to the Surrey First campaign included $902,000 from corporations, $130,000 from individuals and $38,000 from trade unions.
Many of Surrey First’s contributors were developers, including the Beedie Development Group ($8,000), Bosa Properties Inc. ($21,500) and Polygon Homes ($8,000).