The polls are now closed as Surrey voters have cast their ballots for a mayor, council and other leaders in local government.
Who is running for mayor?
Surrey will elect a new mayor today, with current Mayor Linda Hepner not seeking re-election.
Eight candidates are after the mayor’s chair this year, and they are Tom Gill (Surrey First, incumbent councillor), Pauline Greaves (Proudly Surrey), Bruce Hayne (Integrity Now, incumbent councillor), Rajesh Jayaprakash (People First Surrey), Doug McCallum (Safe Surrey Coalition), Francois Nantel (Independent), Imtiaz Popat (Progressive Sustainable Surrey) and John Wolanski (Independent).
Incumbent councillors Hayne and Gill are facing off for the city’s top job. Hayne, formerly of Surrey First, split to run for mayor under his newly created slate, Integrity Now.
Safe Surrey’s McCallum is a former Surrey mayor, who served from 1996 to 2005. He also sought to regain his seat in the 2014 election, but lost to Hepner.
READ: OUR VIEW: Don’t be accurs’d, Surrey – get out and vote!
READ: Are civic elections less important than federal and provincial elections?
New parties in the 2018 civic election are People First Surrey, Proudly Surrey, Integrity Now and Progressive Sustainable Surrey.
Two independents are also seeking the mayor’s chair.
Wolanski, a longtime Surrey resident, took a shot at the mayor’s chair in 2014. He also ran unsuccessfully for council in the 2002, 2008 and 2011 elections.
The other independent candidate, Nantel, has run in three previous New Westminster civic elections but never in Surrey.
Who is running for council?
There are 48 people running for the eight councillor seats in Surrey.
Surrey First, which swept all seats on city council in 2014, is running again in this election, as is Safe Surrey Coalition.
Several new parties have materialized for the 2018 civic election, including Independent Surrey Voters Association, GreenVote, Integrity Now, Proudly Surrey, People First Surrey and Progressive Sustainable Surrey.
There are also several independent candidates seeking a seat at Surrey’s council table.
Click here for individual candidate bios on Surrey’s election website.
Who is running for school board?
There are 30 candidates running for Surrey’s Board of Education.
There are six Surrey seats on the board, with one spot for a White Rock trustee (two of the 30 candidates are after the White Rock seat).
Surrey First Education won the six Surrey seats in the last 2014 civic election, with one lone candidate (Laura McNally) winning the White Rock spot.
All members of Surrey First Education are seeking re-election.
Several new slates have been created for the 2018 civic election, including Surrey Students NOW, Proudly Surrey, and ACT Now Surrey.
There are also several independent candidates.
Click here for individual candidate bios on Surrey’s election website.
ELECTION QUESTION: Are civic elections less important that federal and provincial elections? https://t.co/VoY0JQ7ATX
— Surrey Now-Leader (@SurreyNowLeader) October 18, 2018
For all of our stories on the municipal election, click here.
Check out our website and Facebook page for full coverage of the results.