langleywatchdog…. and more!

Let’s elect a build infrastructure, do-something Council!

The majority on our Township of Langley Municipal Council has been populated (elected) with individuals that are a de-facto slate for the last four decades at least – of course they deny it, but their voting records and interesting community connections prove otherwise. The backroom unelected powerbrokers control of this and past council’s majority make it impossible for a reasoned single voice on Council to get anything of substance done for Township of Langley residents. They then use the argument in an election campaign that “This person cannot work with anyone”, which is nothing but their predetermined outcome. This has been a key part of their master plan for decades, lets change that, once and for all! 

Unfortunately, it takes new residents a number of years to learn about the reality of Township of Langley politics – if they have the time within their busy lives to read up on the issue? So, we go back to our title of this Blog Post – “The Best Predictor of FUTURE Performance is PAST Performance”

Remember, you are electing a mayor and eight Councilors for 4 years, and in today’s world that is an eternity. Let us get it right this time, otherwise we will all pay a very heavy price. For the sake of our families, neighbors, and relatives, we need a Council that will do something for our communities in our collective infrastructure needs, and NOT development favors for friends and insiders!

For the record, I am a life-long free-enterprise activist and supporter, but this is not a left or right issue, this is about electing a solid municipal government. It is interesting that the current and past majorities of our Township of Langley municipal councils, seem to be in lock step with the disastrous 16-year record of our previous B.C. Liberal Provincial Government, favoring friends and insiders in land deals, development proposals, contracts and more. So, in BREAKING NEWS, this has all now been confirmed; former MLA Rich Coleman has just come out of hiding and registered a slate confirming what most of us have known for decades, his close ties (admitted below) and influence of your Municipal Government and senior staff. Is he running or not? If Rich Coleman does run for Mayor, I have no trouble stating that “the man’s arrogance knows no bounds”. I guess the bad publicity he received during the money laundering public hearings and his B.C. Liberal Government’s disastrous 16-year run was not enough for him. Who is on his slate? In a very questionable mistake – NOT! (Dirty politics, great start Rich?), he used NDP MLA Megan Dykeman’s office phone number in his interestingly resurrected smokescreen Langley Voter’s Association registration for a slate with Elections B.C.

Rich, you say you have had a lot of people asking you to run for Mayor, I am sure you have as all of those developer friends must be getting nervous about the likely changes coming to the Township of Langley Municipal Council this year! The following is an excerpt from our first BLOG Post of January 2013, it says a lot:

At this point I will relate an interesting conversation I had in my meeting with Rich Coleman. (For the record I would swear an affidavit to the validity of the following, a lie detector test if required) It was in February of 2008 and in response to my message and request for a meeting, I received a call from Rich Coleman’s office to set up a meeting in his then Aldergrove office.

On my arrival (interesting, then Councilor Jordan Bateman was hanging out in Coleman’s office when I got there) we went into his boardroom with just the two of us in the meeting. We got into it right off the top:

Rich Coleman: So what is this meeting about?

Rick Green: I just wanted to drop by and introduce someone who is running for Mayor.

Rich Coleman: Well, WE are OK with the job the Mayor is doing.

Rick Green: Well, we are not.

Rich Coleman: I want you to know two things; the CAO (Mark Bakken – Chief Administrative Officer) is a good friend of mine.

Rick Green: That’s interesting

Rich Coleman: And you have been making noises about some land deals, and I want you to know WE are OK with them. (note: the specifics are a topic for another day – but it dealt with the sale of the Township owned Dixon Pit property at an unbelievable low price with questionable required advertising and more to a prominent Langley family.)

Rick Green: Well we are not, it is bull shit and it is going to stop.

After that frosty exchange, I was surprised that the meeting lasted a while longer. Believe me, there was no doubt that I was not his choice for Mayor, (Somehow I don’t think I fit his mold of a “do as I say” Mayor) but then again, I could have cared less. He was the last person in the world I was trying to impress. The haunting question from that meeting that still remains unanswered is, WHO was Rich Coleman referring to with respect to “WE” being OK with the mysterious land deals, and “WE” being OK with the then Mayor Kurt Alberts. Who is “WE”?  Just asking the question? The Establishment? WHO? Very interesting comment which probably tells a lot!

We cannot allow this cabal (def. a secret political clique or faction) to continue their undue influence and take over of our community, not IF we care about the Township of Langley and want a truly representative municipal government, unlike those of the past. All of this sounds like panic is setting in within the development community! Up to now developers have had a free reign!  

Proof of the above? Just look at our current Council’s consistent voting record over the last four decades on issues such as “selling off of Township owned property to friends and insiders”, “disastrous development approvals,” votes against reasonable “Community Amenity Contributions” (CACs) forcing developers to pay for necessary infrastructure, voting for ad-hoc changes to “community and neighborhood plans,” voting for ad-hoc “zoning changes” within community and neighborhood plans, voting against key “Community Infrastructure Investments and needs” with a complete lack of transparency. Remember it was Mayor Froese, and Councillors Whitmarsh, Long and former Councillor Quaale who accepted donations just before, during and immediately after development proposals were voted on at the Council table. Illegal no, unethical and immoral, in my opinion yes.  All of that coupled with decisions being made behind closed doors during in-camera council meetings, ALL hidden from the public which is the way they want it. That must be stopped.

Remember the publicly stated opinion by Mayor Jack Froese on Public Hearings – he does not pay much attention to them as he has to consider the number of people that did not come out to express their opinion. All of this is a slap in the face to community members attending and voicing their opinion which follows due process in municipal governance mandated by legislation?

But this is the mantra of their silent de facto slate meeting the needs of the development community and those unelected in our community (Some call them the Langley Mafia) pulling strings to do their bidding on Council. If you are going to run a slate at least have the guts to make that public, so the voter can decide based on knowing the facts of who is involved. That may just be about ready to happen.

All of these issues, especially with an exploding population (the second largest increase in Metro Vancouver over the past three years and not slowing down) can have, and frankly ARE having, a devastating effect in all six of our communities throughout the Township of Langley.

In a recent interview with outgoing Mayor Jack Froese he was asked what he felt was a key issue in the Township of Langley going forward – his response “to keep the Township with a small-town feel”? Really? But their de-facto slate obviously agrees, SO:

Let me see if I understand this – you approve massive new housing developments, but vote against the necessary infrastructure needed to support those developments? Like roads, sidewalks, recreation facilities (Community Centers and pools), passive parks, active parks, fire halls with the necessary fire infrastructure, school properties supporting NEW development and we wonder why all of us are faced with a community in crisis every day? Road congestion, poor sidewalk connectivity, a disturbing deficiency in the area of parks and recreation facilities, schools, no seniors centers and more? A small town feel? That horse is out of the barn, and we are all feeling the negative effects of it.

This LANGLEYWATCHDOG BLOG, will, as it has done for the last 9 years, keep you abreast of the candidates, the issues, and what the candidates stand for. It will culminate in my endorsements in an issue prior to the October 15^th election and with the clear reasons why. There are many interesting rumors going around with respect to potential candidates, so we will leave all of that for now, but we encourage you to follow this BLOG for the latest in election news.

It is very unfortunate that our local papers, ALL owned by Black Press, pander to our sitting municipal government (The Township of Langley, your tax dollars and hard-earned money, spends over $225,000 per year on local media) the local media do not want to upset their golden goose revenue source. Our local media’s largest advertisers are the Township of Langley and the development community – period, a fact based on years of inside knowledge up-close and personal. You cannot rely on them to do anything other than printing soft–ball and orchestrated political Q and A candidate campaign reports; that is just what they do and how they survive.

Through our network of objective contributors within all six communities, we will provide the feedback most taxpayers are looking for. We will explain the issues in an understandable and reliable fashion, how they affect you and in many ways what the majority of the current council do not want you to know.

As a former Mayor of the Township of Langley and Delta Alderman with over 45 years of political experience, elected and appointed on numerous Municipal Commissions, Delta Police Board Member, Metro Vancouver Director, member of six Metro Vancouver Committees, including vice-chair of the Metro Vancouver Agriculture Committee, TransLink Mayors Council member and Alternate Municipal Finance Authority Director, we will not hold back on the facts that you should know about before you vote!

Let us finally break from the past and make changes to our council that are meaningful and not connected to the unelected insiders control of Council and staff. The status quo has not worked for us in the past and will not work for us in the future – we need meaningful change.

Four years is an eternity, the new Council’s decisions will make or break the direction the Township of Langley is going in – Let us get it right this time around, our families pride in their community and its livability depend on it!

RG

I am working on a few posts at present that I believe are of significant concern to Township of Langley Residents, come back often for news of interest to Township residents.

Protect your Democratic Rights – Protect your NEIGHBORS Democratic Rights – stay informed, stay involved and VOTE!!!

Share this BLOG; forward it to your friends, neighbors, and relatives!

To comment on this post – Click on this Post, top left-hand corner under recent posts.

We will keep you up to-date with the news that is important to you and your Family!

Elections have Consequences, we want you to be informed!

The Township of Langley has a long and sordid political history going back over at least four decades. It has a reputation of special property and development deals for special friends and insiders. Many refer to the Township of Langley as the Wild, Wild West of property development and incestuous (adj. excessively close and resistant to outside influence) political activity! This BLOG has published over 160 BLOG Posts since its inception in January of 2013, documenting a vast number of serious issues that have been uncovered in the Township of Langley by community activists and myself as Mayor 2008 – 2011. Unfortunately, this community has ceded political control over the last four decades to those acting in personal interest and not in the best interest of Township residents – this MUST change! This year is our real opportunity to transform our Council into a Council that will work and do the right thing for ALL taxpayers.

Along with the serious issues documented within this BLOG over many years we continue to see an unbelievable reluctance and outright intransigence on the part of our current Municipal Council to change in the best interest of our exploding population. Keeping pace with our booming population and communities needs by providing much needed critical infrastructure is essential, and it is not happening. The Township of Langley’s population leads the pack in Metro Vancouver at + 31.88% growth between 2011 and 2021. (That is only 10 years!) It is long past time that we have a Municipal Council that recognizes our citizen’s needs in looking after this exploding growth. We need to move into the present and meet the needs of today and tomorrow, the status quo is long past being acceptable, there has to be some serious change in the make-up of our elected Council!

What are we talking about? – Roads, sidewalks, parks (passive and active), recreation facilities, property for schools, water, Community and Neighborhood Plans that represent community values (not repeated approvals to change those plans and the approved zoning for and by developers), fire halls (to keep pace with Insurance Company demands) and so much more!

The election is for FOUR years, we have to get it right on October 15^th, 2022!

Special Deals with friends and developers: As I am sure it has been noted that my last two posts have dealt with what I still consider a serious issue pertaining to the campaign fundraising activity of a few members of the Township of Langley Council by way of a Supreme Court of British Columbia application; a group of ten Township of Langley residents (who deserve a lot of credit) petitioned the Supreme Court of British Columbia regarding the process and method of receiving campaign donations by Mayor Jack Froese, Councillors Blair Whitmarsh and Bob Long as well as former Councillor Angie Quaale at various times, before, during and after developments were voted on and approved by Council.

The Petitioners didn’t really “lose”. The Justice said the obvious connection between them did not prove a conflict of interest in terms of a “quid pro quo”. That is actually not the legal standard though, instead being that a reasonable person could conclude it *may* affect their votes. In our opinion of course it does. The Justice just wasn’t going to do it.

The complete detail pertaining to the application and the decision are laid out in my BLOG posts dated November 26^th and December 4^th 2020. I have deliberately left these two BLOG Posts up as my latest posts so my daily viewers, of which there are many, will have the opportunity to be reminded about what is and has been going on in our municipality who still claim they did nothing wrong. Really?

Technically the petitioners lost their case in the Supreme Court, but it is clear however that at a minimum there is a moral and ethical argument about the fundraising activities that occurred by these members of Council. As an individual who has been involved in politics for the best part of 45 years, has managed many campaigns Provincially and Municipally, been elected Alderman in Delta, and Mayor in the Township of Langley, I have NEVER accepted donations directly nor did my Fundraising Chairman fundraise prior to 45 days before the election day.

Under NO circumstances would we receive (accept) donations during the elected term which presented any appearance of influence should any development applications be on the table. I voted considering input from staff, residents input by mail and public hearing outcomes and my personal consideration.

It must be about ethics and moral governance for those elected without any appearance of undue influence. I have talked to many Municipal politicians, former colleagues in the lower mainland, and without exception they were surprised at what has been going on politically in the Township of Langley. It appears that a change in Campaign Finance Laws has not had the desired effect on our local politics.

Politics is not a Spectator Sport – It is a Participation Sport! – This obviously doesn’t mean you have to run for Council or for that matter donate or work for a candidate, however it does mean that as taxpayers we have the responsibility to follow who is running, what they stand for, what life experiences, they have and specifically what their voting track record is if they are currently on Council? Your Municipal Council has more direct influence and effect on our daily lives than do the two senior levels of government.

Our existing Council? To keep Council members accountable they must be held accountable at election time; it is our only chance as taxpayers to hold them to account. An election is a referendum on the real performance on current council members, not their grandstanding performance, which becomes obvious at every Council meeting. Through this BLOG we will provide relevant information as to the performance of current Council members. Don’t pay attention to the political platitudes you will hear from many candidates during the election campaign in their written editorials, campaign literature, Council meeting theatrics and political profiles – they mean absolutely nothing. Real performance on Council means everything. My municipal political experience has given me an up-close-and-personal observation on the actions of many sitting at our Council table, it is not pretty.     

NEW Candidates – Who else is running for Council, what is their background, what are their life experiences, what do they stand for, what is their platform? There have been a few that have come forward publicly to announce they are running for Mayor and Councillor but it is far too early to draw any conclusions. There challenge is to have the intestinal fortitude to lay out their platform in real terms and not with fuzzy language backed up with some proof of credibility.  

This BLOG, www.langleywatchdog.com will keep you up to-date through POSTS during August, weekly after that up to October 1^st and then bi-weekly up to election-day October 15^th, 2022.

As I stated earlier we have a serious critical infrastructure deficit. We are no longer that sleepy hollow that some would like to go back to, those days are gone, fortunately or unfortunately depending on your point of view. The issue, we have to manage it and protect our communities with good planning. We are the fastest growing Municipality in Metro Vancouver and we are in a crisis due to the inaction of many on the current Council. We are in gridlock with respect to parks, schools, roads, fire halls and so much more. Let’s work to have the largest turnout in Township of Langley municipal election history – It is the only way we can correct so many years of inadequate Council attention.

RG

I am working on a few posts at present that I believe are of significant concern to Township of Langley Residents, come back often for news of interest to Township residents.

Protect your Democratic Rights – Protect your NEIGHBORS Democratic Rights – stay informed, stay involved and VOTE!!!

Share this BLOG; forward it to your friends, neighbors, and relatives!

To comment on this post – Click on this Post, top left-hand corner under recent posts.