Sukh Dhaliwal enters race for Surrey mayor seat
Posted July 18, 2022 2:45 pm.
Last Updated July 18, 2022 4:11 pm.
The list of candidates lining up to challenge Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum in the Oct. 15 civic election has grown by one.
Surrey-Newton MP Sukh Dhaliwal officially entered the race Monday morning.
Hamish Telford, a political scientist at the University of the Fraser Valley, says this news actually favours the incumbent.
“I think the more big-name candidates that enter the race, the more those candidates will divide the opposition vote to McCallum, [and] the easier the path to victory becomes for Doug McCallum,” Telford said.
“I think he has his supporters, perhaps 20, maybe 25 per cent of the electorate,” he added of McCallum’s chances of re-election. “Lower than he had last time, but still, I think he’s got his supporters because he promised to do popular things and he has fulfilled them. So, people will stick with him.”
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Dhaliwal has made it clear he will not oppose the city’s transition from the RCMP to the Surrey Police Service, a move that began with McCallum’s election in 2018.
Telford thinks this transition is a foregone conclusion.
“The process is so far along now, I don’t think it’s going to be undone. So, how do you smooth out that transition? How do you address the deficiencies in the plan that have emerged since it was initiated? And how do you bring those very strong opponents to the new police force on board with the plan? And I have not heard from any of the candidates how they intend to do that and how they can do that.”
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Other high-profile candidates running against McCallum include Surrey-Panorama MLA Jinny Sims and City Councillor Brenda Locke.
Telford says if any of McCallum’s challengers want a real shot at winning, they will have to distinguish themselves from the others to those who are looking for a new mayor. However, he says Locke has the advantage of “being in the trenches for the last four years, fighting Doug McCallum.”
“Unless the voters of the city of Surrey decide that they want to toss out the entire council associated with Doug McCallum and want a completely fresh start. In which case, Sukh Dhaliwal and Jinny Sims would have the advantage.”
