Nearly 100 candidates seek 15 Surrey mayoral, council and school board seats

Surrey’s candidate nomination period closed at 4 p.m. Friday, Sept. 11, formally beginning the campaign for the city’s Oct. 17 civic election. As of Friday afternoon, surrey.ca/election listed seven candidates for mayor, 65 for city council and 23 for school board. The list will be updated as nomination papers are processed, and candidate profiles, contact information and other details are posted online.

The mayoral candidates, listed alphabetically, are Igal Ammons-II, Linda Annis, Brenda Locke, Doug McCallum, Honveer Singh Randhawa, Mike Starchuk and Troy Van-Vliet.

Surrey voters will elect a mayor, eight city councillors and six school trustees in the quadrennial election. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 52 voting locations across the city, alongside civic elections in other B.C. municipalities.

Advance voting will be available Oct. 7, 10, 14 and 15 at 10 locations listed on surrey.ca. Voters should bring identification and a voter card, which is to be mailed in late September or early October. Surrey uses the Provincial Voters List from Elections BC to create its list of eligible voters.

Accessible voting options include curbside voting at every location and mail-in ballots. Surrey’s interactive voting-locations map allows voters to find a site and check wait times.

Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade has scheduled all-candidate forums ahead of the election. White Rock council candidates will appear Sept. 21 at White Rock Community Centre, followed by mayoral candidates Sept. 22. Surrey-focused council and mayoral forums are scheduled for Oct. 6 and Oct. 7, respectively, at Sheraton Vancouver Guildford Hotel. Spectators can register at swrbot.com/events.