Delta Mayor Lois Jackson has confirmed she will run for a fifth term in the November civic election, bringing the number of mayoral candidates declared so far to three.
“We are in for such exciting times for the future of Delta. I’m just really pleased to be able to say I’m going to run again,” said Jackson, who has served as mayor for 12 years and previously as a councillor, first elected in 1973. Jackson is also chair of the Metro Vancouver board of directors.
Her announcement comes just days after Coun. Heather King declared her intentions to challenge for the mayor’s seat as an independent candidate.
The incumbent mayor said she is trying for another term because there are so many things yet to do that she wants to be a part of.
“We have a fiscally accountable organization and there are still many things I would like to see completed,” she said, naming the Ladner Harbour and Saving our Industrial Lands campaign as a couple.
She said it’s too early to discuss her specific campaign plans, but is looking forward to the fall race.
“We’re going to be able to present a clear choice here, I think, about moving forward.”
In her announcement last week, King said she believes Delta needs a government that listens to, and engages its citizens.
“I want to hear what the residents have to say about the issues of the day and the impact on their neighbourhoods,” King said in a press release.
King is serving her first term on council. She topped the polls in the 2008 election with 13,821 votes, more than any other council hopeful.
Before joining municipal council, she served as a Delta school board trustee and chair of the Board of Education.
Former five-time Delta councillor Krista Engelland was the first mayoral candidate to throw her hat in the ring, officially announcing her intentions in early June. She will run with One Delta, a new civic organization.
“People are encouraging me to run because they feel their concerns are not being heard by this mayor and this council. They are frustrated by a lack of transparent processes and accountability,” Engelland said after her announcement.
Engelland previously ran for mayor in the 2008 civic election, but lost to Jackson by just under 3,000 votes.
“Certainly I’m very pleased to have the competition in the upcoming race,” Jackson told the Leader.
Across the province, general local elections are held every three years on the third Saturday of November. The next election is Nov. 19.