Township mayoral candidates clash over financial disclosures, blind trust….
Eric Woodward claims Rich Coleman is violating rules on disclosing his assets.
(source Langley Advance Times)
Langley Township mayoral candidate Rich Coleman should disclose the assets he has in a blind trust, according to rival mayoral candidate Eric Woodward.
Woodward raised the issue in September, after the candidates registration forms were filed with the chief election officers and posted on the Township website.
When running for civic office, candidates have to disclose their corporate or personal investment holdings, including property they own, along with businesses they own, or which pay them a salary.
Coleman’s disclosure lists “blind trust” under his disclosure section, along with his B.C. Government Pension from his career as an MLA and cabinet minister.
“If you have assets in a trust structure, you still have to disclose the assets”, Woodward said.
He said it’s “outrageous” that Coleman isn’t disclosing what he owns and said it would make it impossible to determine if there are conflicts of interest if Coleman were to be elected mayor.
Woodward said he does not believe Coleman doesn’t know what’s in his trust.
“It hasn’t been very active” Coleman said of the trust – (editorial comment – If the trustee controls the trust how would Coleman know whether it has been very active or not? It is a ruse!)
The Langley Advance Times reached out to the provincial government, and the ministry of the Attorney General said that disclosure statements must detail an elected-officials, corporate and personal holdings; including the name of each business providing financial remuneration to the candidate, and a description and location of land in which they own an interest.
Woodward’s disclosure notes his ownership of shares in two credit unions, but the bulk of the disclosure is about Fort Langley Properties Ltd., a holding company which owns 20 properties in the Fort.
From langleywatchdog – IMPORTANT – Given the Attorney General’s Ministry statement above the residents of the Township of Langley MUST ask themselves what is Rich Coleman hiding, what doesn’t he want you to know? Facing the above reality, he cannot be trusted!
The langleywatchdog.com Endorsement follows, we believe THE CHOICE IS CLEAR:
Our choice for Mayor – Eric Woodward – Contract with Langley.
Eric Woodward has jumped into this race with the most comprehensive plan that I have seen in over 40 years of being involved in Municipal Politics. There are two fundamental guiding principles in making our decision 1) What is their platform against what is the community need? (Specifics, not Platitudes.) and 2) How are they going to get the 5 votes needed to deliver on their election promises?
As a former Mayor with knowledge and experience in the office this plan ia absolutely doable, makes abundant sense and is long overdue for our taxpayers and residents.
#1 – What is the plan vs what is the public need.
I have watched Eric closely over the past 4 years and found him to have done an excellent job in preparation on his arguments on an issue. Eric repeatedly brought forward ideas and ways to fund them (i.e., Development and Financial Reform) and yet he was repeatedly shot down on a wide variety of ideas he brought forward. His performance and work ethic was head and shoulders above anyone else at the Council table. This is the reality of politics playing out with 9 independents, recognizing the majority of those independents at the Council table were controlled by the power elite of the Township. The Contract with Langley Plan deals with our need and is complete with detailed specifics including a financial plan on how he we can pay for it – the bottom line, not from property tax but “Getting a Fair Deal from Development!”
#2 – How are they going to get the 5 votes needed to deliver on their commitments?
The harsh reality is that you need support from, hopefully, a group on Council that are elected with and are all committed to support their advertised platform. Now I can assure you, after talking to the candidates running with Contract with Langley; they are independent in their general thought and mind BUT, support their platform of ideas – which is key to getting something significant done for the people of the Township of Langley. All of this answers the question as to how they are going to achieve their promise.
The KEY – They need your support to get elected in support of their promise. A group of 9 independents will not achieve this goal or our goal of building the necessary infrastructure in our communities. All of these candidates are long-time residents of the Township of Langley and are extremely professional in their regular lives. Through my research and in discussion with all of these Candidates I firmly believe all of them will make Township of Langley residents proud of their Municipal Council and will fully live up to all commitments they have made in this campaign!
Our Choice for Township of Langley Councillors –
“Contract with Langley”
Tim Baillie Retired Surrey Fire Department Captain South Langley
Barb Martens Constable Vancouver Police Dept. 20 yrs. Walnut Grove
Steve Ferguson Retired School Teacher (8 Term Councillor) Brookswood
Misty Van Popta Project Management Professional Fort Langley
A J Cheema Small Business Owner, Coach Salmon River
Rob Rindt Farmer, Small Business Owner Rural Langley
“Independents who we see reflect a new vision and relative youth”
Brit Gardner Community Activist, Transit Activist Fort Langley
Michael Pratt Community Planning and Housing Activist Willowbrook
Our Choice for Township of Langley School Board – There is an absolute need for coordination between our Municipal Council and our School Board in support of
new school locations and facilities to meet our school district needs.
“Contract with Langley”
Holly Dickinson Surrey School Teacher Murrayville
Joel Neufeld Surrey Firefighter Fort Langley
Sarb Rai Federal Public Servant Brookswood
“Election Alert” – While it might be hard to believe for residents of the TOL who have not been involved with Municipal Politics in the Township of Langley, there are “Multi, Multi, Multi Millions of DOLLARS at stake depending on who wins this election. That threat is playing out during this election campaign through the dissemination of hearsay, gossip, innuendo and the spreading of fictitious stories on-line with a personal grudge. Now there is a campaign of stealing and the destruction of many “Contract with Langley” election signs. It does not take a rocket scientist to look around and see who is responsible – the power brokers are feeling threatened. We cannot let them prevail unless you want to see your community sold out. If you see anything or know anything, please contact us immediately.
“Advance Voting Information” for residents of the Township of Langley 8:00 AM – 8:00 PM
Aldergrove – Tuesday Oct. 11th, 2022 – Ald. Credit Un. Com. Centre – 27032 Fraser Highway
Murrayville – Wed. Oct. 12th, 2022 – W.C. Blair Rec. Centre/Studio 4 – 22200 Fraser Hwy.
Brookswood – Thursd. October 13th, 2022 – G. Preston Rec. Centre/Rm B&C – 20699 42nd Ave.
Please remember to VOTE – nothing will happen without your support!
RG
More interesting 2022 Municipal Election News coming soon!
Protect your Democratic Rights – Protect your NEIGHBORS Democratic Rights – stay informed, stay involved and VOTE!!!
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langleywatchdog.... and more! 
The Port Mann bridge is the wosrst design ever and it has Rich Coleman written all over it. Every commutter in Langley lives in fear of crossing that bridge in winter. It should be replaced. A huge mess left behind by Rich Coleman. Do we want this guy involved in any Langley infrastructure. The Cullen commission described his government “a failure”
The issues surrounding Coleman are endless, can you imagine him as Mayor just down the hall from his buddy, our Township CAO Mark Bakken? It was Coleman’s admission to me in a conversation/meeting in 2008 that Bakken is his good friend.
Having Rich back is like our own personal series of All of Us are Dead. Rich and Mark are like our worst nightmare. Why. Why won’t they go away. Does Rich maybe want to come back and tear down our remaining trees? Put up some towers. Exploit more Asians for their $$$, sell them false promises of environmental haven, only to find themselves trapped in the embarrassment that is now the Lower Mainland. Maybe Rich and Mark want to kill off the few remaining owls in the few pockets of forest. RICH: retire. Those of us in Gen X who have lived in the shadow of greedy-boomers like you (not all boomers are greedy) ask you: RETIRE. Give us our chance. The fact you are here shows just how greedy you are. Greedy with no soul, focus on your family, find a hobby, golf. You are an embarrassment to all Canadians. You make us look greedy, corrupt, racist, and evil.
The issues surrounding Rich Coleman go back over 2 decades. The thought of Coleman being in the Mayors office is mind boggling. Lets just keep our fingers crossed that this won’t happen?
If Rich gets in any of us with a soul need to sell our homes and move to Vancouver Island. The fact he thinks he can win, and the fact that people here in Langley support him, says a lot. Praying for a hope-filled outcome.
Could not agree more!!!!!!!