WATCH: Surrey mayoral candidate Barinder Rasode speaks with Aaron McArthur
In the campaign to replace Diane Watts as mayor of Surrey, Doug McCallum, Linda Hepner and Barinder Rasode all agree that combating crime is the city’s number one issue.
So what sets Rasode apart from her rivals?
“McCallum and Hepner have both had a chance. People don’t want people surrounded by bureaucracy or a failed record,” she says.
“What they want is a new approach to solving crime that’s deliverable and measurable and evidence-based.”
READ MORE: Barinder Rasode says safety will be the focus of her campaign
Rasode is trumpeting a plan Delta Police Chief Jim Cessford has created for her campaign, which would see Surrey adopt a “no call too small” model of policing. There would an office of public safety and 200 unarmed officers trained locally to handle specific beats.
“The commitments I’m making are going to result in some real change immediately while we’re waiting officers to arrive in Surrey, which could take many years,” she says.
READ MORE: RCMP in Surrey want 47 more cops
Rasode was elected to council in 2008 and reelected in 2011 as part of Diane Watts’ Surrey First party. But she left the party earlier this year, claiming that not enough had been done to fight crime.
“When you don’t feel safe in your own home, nothing else matters,” she says.
“You have a community where attempted murders have gone up 600 per cent, the rate of murders have gone up 127 per cent, sexual assaults have gone up 30 per cent. I would challenge anyone who says crime is not a significant issue.”
Last week, Rasode announced seven council candidates who would run with her as part of a “One Surrey” team, including several people from the police and business community.
“All of the candidates from One Surrey come from the grassroots,” says Rasode. “It’s about being responsive, whether that’s on social media or responding to emails or calls, and I think on that issue our candidates’ records speak for itself.”
Rasode says that if elected, she would persue “outside-the-box” approaches on transit, freeze taxes and limit spending.
But like almost everyone else in Surrey, her focus until voting day on November 15 will be crime.
“We cannot forget that the number one critical priority is providing adequate resources to public safety.”
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