langleywatchdog…. and more!

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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!!!

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