It乌鸦传媒檚 not every day you see a civic slate calling for legislation enabling the recall of council members but that乌鸦传媒檚 what the Safe Surrey Coalition is doing.

Some political rivals are questioning the motive.

The SSC issued a press release Wednesday morning to announce it乌鸦传媒檚 calling on B.C. Minister of Municipal Affairs Anne Kang to introduce such legislation, 乌鸦传媒渋nspired by Alberta乌鸦传媒檚 model.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e seen the need for such legislation in the face of governance challenges in Surrey and other jurisdictions,乌鸦传媒� SSC Coun. Doug Elford stated in the press release.

乌鸦传媒淩ecall legislation would empower citizens and ensure elected officials are fiscally responsible and keep property taxes affordable. Mayor Brenda Locke campaigned for this, but her leadership has been called into question due to ongoing issues at Surrey City Hall.乌鸦传媒�

The SSC suggests a recall threshold of 50 per cent of the total votes cast for an official. 乌鸦传媒淭his isn乌鸦传媒檛 just about Surrey,乌鸦传媒� Coun. Mandeep Nagra stated in the press release. 乌鸦传媒淚t乌鸦传媒檚 about ensuring all municipal leaders in B.C. are accountable to their constituents.乌鸦传媒�

Former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum, who was defeated by Locke in the 2022 civic election, is also quoted in the press release.

乌鸦传媒淢ayor Locke乌鸦传媒檚 refusal to adequately fund the police service, her spending on partisan political advertisements with taxpayer dollars, and her reckless decisions leading to increased property taxes are exactly why we need recall legislation. Residents deserve the right to hold their leaders accountable,乌鸦传媒� McCallum said.

Locke dismissed this as 乌鸦传媒渏ust a distraction by them. I think the real issue is they don乌鸦传媒檛 like our position on the police transition.

乌鸦传媒淐ertainly lots and lots of people talked about it (a recall mechanism) under McCallum乌鸦传媒檚 administration,乌鸦传媒� she recalled. 乌鸦传媒淭o me this is just another one of their silly little distractions.乌鸦传媒�

Surrey Connect Coun. Harry Bains noted there乌鸦传媒檚 a lot of arguments for and against recall legislation. 乌鸦传媒淥ne of the arguments against it is always that it乌鸦传媒檚 going to be weaponized and I feel that乌鸦传媒檚 what乌鸦传媒檚 happening here, that can be used as a weapon against elected officials. As elected officials, sometimes we have to make unpopular choices, we have to make choices that are hard, we have to be the adults in the room and we have to do so for the good of the city.乌鸦传媒�

Bains said the use of recall legislation to attack politicians might in the long run make it impossible for elected officials to make the right decisions because they might be unpopular. 乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 a huge concern when you乌鸦传媒檙e an elected official and your sole duty is to take care of the city and represent the city that you乌鸦传媒檙e elected in.乌鸦传媒�

Coun. Linda Annis, of Surrey First, said she乌鸦传媒檚 surprised there isn乌鸦传媒檛 already recall legislation for civic elected officials other than if they are criminally convicted. 乌鸦传媒淭o me, it should be aligned with what we do provincially and federally,乌鸦传媒� she said. 乌鸦传媒淵ou know, if we乌鸦传媒檙e not doing our job and the people aren乌鸦传媒檛 happy there should be a process in place. They shouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have to wait four years to voice their opinion. I think it乌鸦传媒檚 just good practice for any elected official anywhere 乌鸦传媒� we need to be held accountable.乌鸦传媒�

Coun. Gordon Hepner, of Surrey Connect, said he乌鸦传媒檚 not against legislation for recall but said when it乌鸦传媒檚 used to try to change the political direction of a politician through legislation, 乌鸦传媒渢hat乌鸦传媒檚 not democracy乌鸦传媒�that乌鸦传媒檚 just a weapon in order to get the way thatthey see fit, not that the public saw during the time at the ballot box.

乌鸦传媒淭hat乌鸦传媒檚 politicking and weaponizing legislation,乌鸦传媒� Hepner added. 乌鸦传媒淲e are a democracy. I am sure that there are many people inSurrey that thought that would have been handy in McCallum乌鸦传媒檚 time in office.乌鸦传媒� He added it might have 乌鸦传媒渋n fact come in handywith all the chaos around McCallum.乌鸦传媒�

Locke echoed that, charging that the SSC乌鸦传媒檚 乌鸦传媒渕ismanagement, their lack of financial accountability,乌鸦传媒� is the reason why the city isin the position it is today 乌鸦传媒渁nd they乌鸦传媒檙e saying that somehow we should be the one to take the hit for their mismanagement fromthe beginning. It乌鸦传媒檚 truly the pot calling the kettle black, I can乌鸦传媒檛 think of a truer description of this.

乌鸦传媒淭his is pretty rich, pretty rich on their part.乌鸦传媒�

Coun. Rob Stutt, also of Surrey Connect, doesn乌鸦传媒檛 think the SSC乌鸦传媒檚 request to Kang meets the criteria of a public interest in this case. 乌鸦传媒淚n this particular case I guess we have to get back to the elephant in the room. In this particular case the reason that we乌鸦传媒檙e in the situation that we乌鸦传媒檙e in is because of the Safe Surrey Coalition乌鸦传媒檚 poor decision-making.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淚 would suggest that their attempt to influence Minister Kang has nothing to do with the genuine interest of having recall legislation at the municipal level,乌鸦传媒� Stutt said. 乌鸦传媒淚f there was provision for recall of municipal officials there乌鸦传媒檚 a strong likelihood that mayor McCallum would not have finished his term. I乌鸦传媒檓 thinking careful what you wish for, because if that legislation had乌鸦传媒檝e been in effect as long as it has been for the other levels of government, he probably wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have survived his term.乌鸦传媒�