All-candidate meetings planned in Surrey and White Rock as civic election campaign continues

All-candidate meetings are planned in Surrey and White Rock ahead of the Oct. 17 civic election. The Downtown Surrey Business Improvement Association will host a Surrey mayoral all-candidates forum at Civic Hotel on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The one-hour panel discussion and question period begins at 8:30 a.m. The free event requires advance registration and has limited capacity.

The Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade will hold White Rock forums at White Rock Community Centre at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 21, for council candidates, and Tuesday, Sept. 22, for mayoral candidates. Its Surrey-focused forums are scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 6, for council candidates, and Wednesday, Oct. 7, for mayoral candidates, at Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel. Spectators can register at swrbot.com/events.

The Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce is also holding an open-house series for civic slates. Remaining events, all from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Chamber office at 5738 176th St., are Sept. 17 with Surrey First and mayoral candidate Linda Annis; Sept. 18 with the Conservative Party of Surrey and mayoral candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa; and Sept. 21 with New Surrey+ and mayoral candidate Igal Ammons II. Advance registration is available at cloverdalechamber.ca.

Candidate nomination periods across B.C. ended at 4 p.m. on Sept. 11, formally starting the civic election campaign. Surrey’s election website lists seven mayoral candidates, 67 council candidates and 26 school trustee candidates: 100 people seeking 15 available seats, 16 more candidates than the 84 on the ballot in the 2022 civic election. Surrey voters will elect a mayor, eight city councillors and six school trustees. In White Rock, three candidates are seeking the mayor’s seat and 15 are running for six council seats.