Nov
18
2011
Surrey mayoral candidate critical of multimillion-dollar civic development corp.
SCC In the News 0
The City of Surrey has created joint-venture partnerships to develop a mall, erect 141 townhouses and build a large brewery. Opposition council candidate Grant Rice said Thursday that warning bells should be going off about the city’s foray into moneymaking enterprises usually left to private developers. “The people running the Surrey City Development Corp. don’t have the expertise to handle multimillion-dollar projects. They’re burning through $1 million a year and the taxpayers know very little about it,” said Rice, who is running for the Surrey Civic Coalition. “I’m sticking up for private developers here and asking how we can insure
Nov
18
2011
Ijaz Chatha just said no to George Bush
SCC News Releases 0
Ijaz Chatha just said no to George Bush. Chatha, a Surrey School Trustee who is seeking reelection with the Surrey Civic Coalition, said he could have gone to Surrey’s Economic Summit on the taxpayers’ dime but he chose not to. Chatha said all trustees were asked if they would like tickets but he declined. Four trustees, all members of Surrey First, did go, he said. “Should $600 of taxpayer money be spent to attend a summit conference?,” asked Chatha. “No, I don’t think so. I believe this is not something that the voters of Surrey elect the trustees for. They
Nov
18
2011
SCC’s Stephanie Ryan predicts property tax increases for Translink
SCC News Releases, Stephanie Ryan 0
A property tax increase in addition to the two-cent-per-litre gas tax is a very real possibility says Surrey Civic Coalition Candidate Stephanie Ryan. She predicts the Metro Vancouver Mayors’ Council will get boxed in by the provincial government and “are likely to break their promise that transit won’t be funded through property tax increase.” Ryan explained that the BC Liberals have put legislation in place for the new TransLink two-cent-per-litre gas tax to be deducted starting April 1, 2012. Mayor Dianne Watts and other members of the Mayors Council voted in favour of the new two-cent-per-litre gas tax. Ryan said
Nov
17
2011
Some say Watts hasn’t done enough
SCC In the News 0
Surrey’s Mayor is facing charges she hasn’t done enough when it comes to transit from the party trying to wrest control of city council from the Surrey First Party. Stephanie Ryan with the Surrey Civic Coalition says the Mayor during her term has fallen short in getting transit improvements, “Mayor Watts was Chair of the Mayors Council for Translink for a year and I think most people would point to a lack of results in getting some more equitable funding for Surrey and south of the Fraser during that one year tenure.” But, Dianne Watts says progress at Translink is
Nov
17
2011
Georgia Straight’s Slate
SCC In the News 0
The following was excepted from the Georgia Straight’s recommendations for local civic council candidates: We can’t recommend the reelection of Mayor Dianne Watts after her defence of former president George W. Bush’s recent visit to her city. Watts has also sent conflicting signals over whether she wants Metro Vancouver to build a waste incinerator in Surrey, whereas one of her opponents, Ross Buchanan, has been unequivocally opposed. Another mayoral candidate, Vikram Bajwa, has tried to find out how much Surrey taxpayers ended up forking out on the Bush visit. We say vote for him if you don’t like people who start
Nov
16
2011
SCC’s Rina Gill says City of Surrey made a mistake by installing pay parking on 137th Street
SCC News Releases, Rina Gill 0
I’ve been hearing buzz in the community and in the media about business owners being upset with the parking meters that were installed on 137th Street in the Newton area of Surrey. I’ve seen Letters to the Editors from business owners in the area in both the mainstream and ethnic media. Up until now, nothing has been done. Since I live in Newton, I frequent this area quite often and when I noticed the parking meters, I indirectly avoided parking there as well. I usually spend an extra 5-10 minutes searching for free parking and then end up walking quite
Nov
16
2011
Surrey is being badly shortchanged on transit
SCC Opinion Pieces 0
Public transportation has become a key issue in many lower mainland civic elections, but nowhere is the lack of service more acute than in Surrey . Surrey has become a have-not city when it comes to public transit. Residents are understandably fed up with abysmal transit service. We are not prepared to wait any longer. It’s time to get our fair share now. For two decades, Surrey has been growing at an unbelievable pace of over 10,000 new residents each year. But transit – like schools, hospitals and other infrastructure – has not kept pace. Surrey has become the poor
Nov
16
2011
Should Surrey have a Municipal Auditor-General?
SCC In the News 0
That was one question presented to candidates at a meeting hosted by the Surrey Board of Trade Tuesday evening. While current City Councillor Tom Gill says the Surrey First team supports the position, as long as the Province provides the funding, Independent mayoral candidate, Vikram Bajwa says that role should have been created years ago. Surrey Civic Coalition candidate Grant Rice says when an Auditor-General is chosen, he wants that person to look at sales from back in 2003, “When Campbell Heights was sold for 15 cents on a dollar, 35-thousand dollars an acre to Progressive and Kingswood.” Among other
Nov
15
2011
We don’t want no *#$% smart meters
SCC In the News 0
A candidate for City Council in Surrey says if he is elected on Saturday, he’ll introduce a by-law to restrict installation of smart meters on residential properties in his city. Gary Robinson, with the Surrey Civic Coalition: “It’s one more example I guess, of the Provincial Government not listening. If it takes a city standing up to them, then a city needs to stand up to them. It’s a colossal waste of money.” Robinson says people he has talked to are opposed to a system that monitors their actions. Original article: http://www.cknw.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1571649
Nov
15
2011
Surrey residents try to keep candidates concise
SCC In the News 0
South Surrey’s only all-candidates meeting – held at the Rotary Field House Monday – touched on a number of contentious issues facing the city. Nearly 100 people came to hear civic candidates’ responses to questions ranging from public safety to Surrey’s annual economic summit. Questions were posed in an unusual format in order to accommodate as many answers as possible on seven subjects. Candidates were all asked a question, initially only being able to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no.’ After everyone had answered, each could use one of three “green cards” to answer in detail. The first divisive question of the