Perminder Chohan is running for Surrey council on a platform of careful spending and transparency

Perminder Chohan is running for Surrey city council with Imagine Surrey. A Newton resident for 35 years and a grandfather, he built Lifewise Financial Group from the ground up and has mentored hundreds of Surrey entrepreneurs.

His top three priorities are smart investments, including no blank cheques or overpaying for land; a better arena deal and three new community centres; and open procurement and a lobbyist registry at City Hall.

Expanding on smart investments, Chohan said he spent two decades building a business and learned a basic rule: do not overpay, and know what you are getting before signing. He said the mayor’s arena deal fails that test. Chohan said he would build the arena Surrey deserves on cheaper land in a better location and put part of the savings toward three new community centres. He said public money should be treated as if it belongs to the people who paid it.

Chohan said he built a company that supports families across Canada and would bring that discipline to a City Hall he says has forgotten whose money it spends. Voters can find out more at imaginesurrey.ca, by emailing perminder@imaginesurrey.ca, on Facebook at Perminder Chohan for Surrey City Council, on Instagram at @chohan_perminder or by calling 604-653-0017.