Doug McCallum returns as Surrey mayor, defeating Brenda Locke
The 82-year-old former mayor won a fifth term after a campaign focused on property taxes, policing and infrastructure.
Analysis
Doug McCallum has been elected mayor of Surrey, defeating incumbent Brenda Locke.
McCallum, 82, led Locke by nearly 12,000 votes with all polls reporting, securing 31.9 per cent of the vote to Locke's 23 per cent.
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"I love Surrey, that's why I ran. I love Surrey, but I even love the people of Surrey more," McCallum said in his victory speech.
"Together we are going to build a great city that our families will live in, have jobs and go to sports, enjoy each other, work together, to make one of the best global cities in the world."
He named Mandeep Singh Nagra as his deputy mayor.
Locke conceded the race just before 10 p.m., telling her supporters, "The voters have truly spoken."
"Four years ago the people of Surrey gave me an honour of serving as mayor. It has been the privilege of a lifetime," she said.
Policing transition a key issue
The result marks a reversal of the 2022 election, when Locke defeated McCallum by fewer than 1,000 votes.
Locke was elected in 2022 on a pledge to reverse the transition from the RCMP to the Surrey Police Service, a process McCallum had initiated.
Her effort to stop the transition failed, and her handling of the file became a central campaign issue.
"I think this was a vote on her handling of a very critical file in a city that public safety is always top of the agenda," said former Surrey city councillor Barinder Rasode.
"People have probably lost trust in how she handled such a significant file that then led to massive tax increases and a battle that just wouldn't stop."
In an interview after conceding, Locke said she was surprised by the result.
"It certainly wasn't what we heard at the doors or in any of the polling data. So I don't know why that happened, but it did. Very disappointing," she said.
McCallum's campaign promises
McCallum campaigned under the banner 'Doug Gets it Done' and made several major promises.
He pledged to freeze property taxes for the next four years.
He also promised to push for a SkyTrain extension to Newton and a new hospital in that community, to hire an independent forensic auditor to examine recent municipal land transfers, and to implement a ward system for city councillors.
McCallum said he would try to partially withdraw Surrey from the Metro Vancouver Regional District.
For policing, he promised to expand resources for the Surrey Police Service, including acquiring a helicopter.
His Safe Surrey Coalition also pledged to designate the Crescent Beach and Ocean Park communities as "protected heritage zones" to exempt them from provincial housing legislation.
Councillor Doug Elford, a member of McCallum's slate, said the victory was a surprise.
"It was a little surprising that we got such a landslide in," Elford told Postmedia.
"Obviously, they wanted a change, and we saw the numbers up going up. The percentages are up a lot more than they historically have been, so that means people are motivated to come out, which means that I believe that they wanted change, and they spoke with their votes."
A new council majority
McCallum's Safe Surrey Coalition won a majority on council.
The lone council candidate not from the coalition who won a seat is incumbent Harry Bains from Locke's team, who received the highest number of votes of any candidate.
The remaining seats will be filled by incumbents Doug Elford and Mandeep Nagra, former councillors Allison Patton and Laurie Guerra and newcomers Meera Gill, Suhana Gill and Cheney Cloke.
Elford said residents can expect quick decisions to carry out campaign promises "as best as we can."
Locke offered some parting advice to the returning mayor.
"I think that Mr. McCallum has to go back to the drawing board, not the one he used before, and make sure that he's recognizing the power of Surrey and the strength of our city," she said.
When asked if she would run again, Locke said, "Never say never."
Advance voting saw a 47 per cent increase from the 2022 election, with 52,600 votes cast.
With files from CityNews, CBC News and Global News