Working together for local democracy
The Surrey Civic Coalition is a Civic political party in Surrey, B.C., Canada dedicated to bringing citizens back into the planning process for our City Council and Board of Education. In short, everyone working together.
We believe the majority of Surrey’s current council and school trustees have not been standing up for Surrey, and their decisions appear to represent a small minority of Surrey residents, namely those with a financial interest in the city. We have policies that are inclusive of everyone in Surrey.
School Crisis
The biggest crisis in Surrey right now is the lack of schools. As has been well documented, Surrey has received no capital funding for new school construction for the past six years. While it’s easy to blame the provincial government, Surrey council has to accept its share of the blame as well.
We have to ask ourselves, if there are no new schools being built, why are we continuing to develop like there’s no tomorrow?
In the 2008 election, the Surrey Civic Coalition was the only party in Surrey which ran candidates for both City Council and the Board of Education. This is because only the SCC thought it was important enough to have these two levels of government work together.
That’s what SCC believes in: Working together. Whether it’s the council and school board working together to ensure schools are in place or whether it’s council and school trustees working together with neighbourhoods to engage citizens in making decisions, that’s the SCC way.
When Bob Bose was mayor, development permits were put on hold until the funding the necessary school was in place. Bose was accused of being anti-development but nothing could be further from the truth. What happened was the development industry and the local real estate market joined the lobby for new schools in Surrey. What happened? New schools were built at a record pace. Mayor Watts and Surrey First could learn a thing or two from Bob Bose and the SCC.
Many groups have now joined the SCC and the school board in calling for additional funding. The Surrey Teachers Association, the Board of Trade, DPAC, virtually everyone with a stake in education is joining SCC in calling for additional funding.
Working together to improve local democracy
Another way SCC believes in working together is by improving local democracy.
Recent initiatives of the SCC include calling for referenda to increase citizen democracy and increase voter turnout. We believe Surrey voters deserve a say on many crucial decisions which will shape the future of Surrey.
We have a civic election coming up in November. What better time to get citizen feedback than when we’re having an election anyway?
The issue of wards comes up every election in Surrey and every time the current council shoots it down because the current at-large system favours their re-election chances.
But there are all sorts of issues Surrey voters might like a voice on.
Surrey First wants a 10,000-seat events centre for indoor rodeos in Cloverdale. We think it’s better to build it in the Whalley city centre, where it’s on the Skytrain line, and can attract AHL and major junior hockey, major concerts, trade shows and conventions. All of these uses would be better served in Whalley.
But why not ask voters when we’re having an election anyway?
We should ask voters about their transit preferences - whether Surrey commuters want simply more bus routes, light rail transit, , or expensive Skytrain additions which can take 20 years or more to complete. Let the voters have a say.
Surrey had its best voter turnout in 1988 when it asked citizens if they wanted to dedicate large parcels of land (Green Timbers and Sunnyside Acres) as urban forest parks. We should have a referendum on park dedication and parkland acquisition so we can avoid another fiasco like Bear Creek Park, where the current council came within a whisker of ploughing a four-lane 84 Avenue right through the heart of Surrey’s flagship park.
There are many issues local voters should have a say on: Wards, transit options, park dedication, the location of an events centre, whether we should use the existing city hall lands for a new hospital, to name a few.
When SCC polling, 58% were in favour of wards, 25% were opposed, and the rest were undecided. That’s better than a two-to-one margin. Let’s put the question of wards to the test once and for all.