Four-term Surrey councillor Tom Gill will be the one to lead the city’s currently-governing party Surrey First into the October election.
The party announced Coun. Gill as its mayoral candidate Friday afternoon.
“Tom’s experience and commitment to our city make him a tremendous choice to be Surrey’s next mayor,” said sitting Mayor Linda Hepner in a media release.
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Hepner announced earlier this year she will not be seeking re-election in the Oct. 20 vote.
Hepner praised what she called Gill’s collaborative approach, which she said was key to the party’s success.
Gill says he’ll be running on a seven-point strategy and at the top of the list, “affordability for young families”…..
“We’ve got a tremendous amount of families moving into Surrey and we need to ensure these families are successful in raising their children so I think that in itself is exceptionally important to me,” he said.
“We take nothing for granted, and that means reaching out into our community with some new faces, some new voices, and more ways to make Surrey a great city for all of us.”
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Gill was first elected to Surrey City Council in 2005, and currently lives in the Fraser Heights neighbourhood with his wife Pav.
He has sat as chairman of the city’s finance committee, and was a founding director of the Surrey Homelessness and Housing Society.
Surrey First swept the 2014 elections, capturing the mayor’s chair, all eight council seats, and the school board.
However, cracks may be showing in the governing alliance, with Coun. Bruce Hayne announcing earlier this week he as quitting the party to sit as an independent over concerns about transparency and public consultation.
Surrey First will also face a challenge from a newly formed civic party called the Surrey Community Alliance this year.
-With files form Janet Brown
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