Surrey councillor curious who will pay mayor’s legal bills following public mischief charge
Posted December 11, 2021 1:09 pm.
Last Updated December 11, 2021 1:11 pm.
After Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum was charged with public mischief, one city councillor is wondering who will foot the bill for his legal trouble.
Coun. Linda Annis tells CityNews that while it’s not her place to decide whether or not the mayor should step down, she hopes the charge does not cost Surrey residents.
“This is something he brought on himself when he wasn’t acting in the official capacity of the mayor,” said Annis. “And I’m hoping that he is bearing the cost of this long legal battle that is going to take place himself. This burden should not be put on the taxpayers.”
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Annis would like to wait until the legal process is complete to determine whether or not McCallum is guilty. In the meantime, she says he should step aside from his duties as mayor and chair of the police board.
Annis believes that until now, the City of Surrey “was on a real trajectory to becoming a great city,” and its reputation had been positive. But after the mayor’s scuffle in front of a grocery store with pro-RCMP supporters, she says the city has “become the laughingstock of the Lower Mainland and of British Columbia.”
“We’re embarrassed as a city. This type of activity should not be happening here… This is an embarrassment to the residents of Surrey. People that are in elected office should be held in higher esteem and shouldn’t be getting charged with things like public safety,” she added.
Ivan Scott and Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum speak outside a Save On Foods on Saturday, Sept. 4. (Courtesy Twitter/@captainramona)
With Surrey’s 2022 budget overdue, Annis hopes the city can get back on track and do what “we were elected to do.”
“Clearly, we’re moving into 2022 with no budget. That’s not good financial management.”
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This week, the B.C. Prosecution Service said a charge of public mischief was approved by a special prosecutor brought in after McCallum complained to the RCMP that he was verbally assaulted and his foot was run over by a car.
McCallum’s first court appearance will be in Surrey in late January.
