Two Indo-Canadians Figure In “Doug Paaji’s” Slate Of Four!
Former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum, who is known in the Punjabi community as Doug Paaji, is not fielding a full slate as he said at the press conference that Surrey doesn’t want slates so he decided to field the best four he could find. This is the just the beginning of what will be a very exciting election in Surrey!
By R. Paul Dhillon
SURREY – Surrey mayoral candidate Doug McCallum unveiled the Safe Surrey Coalition and their Public Safety Platform Tuesday morning, announcing a lean slate of four candidates and his agenda for Surrey which is heavy on crime safety.
McCallum’s team includes Surrey Now editor Beau Simpson, the high profile of the lot. The others include two Indo-Canadians – Rina Gill and Justin Thind – as well as Laurie Guerra!
McCallum, who is known in the Punjabi community as Doug Paaji, is not fielding a full slate as he said at the press conference that Surrey doesn’t want slates so he decided to field the best four he could find. This is the just the beginning of what will be a very exciting election in Surrey!
McCallum’s slate is unique for many reasons, one being that he has decided to field two Indo-Canadians to counter the just one among the eight for Linda Hepner-fronted Surrey First, which is looking at a lot of trouble ahead with their leader having hit a roadblock.
McCallum has also drafted a plan for Safe Surrey Coalition, which represents a serious response to the growing problems of crime and insecurity infiltrating the streets of Surrey.
The Safe Surrey Coalition is releasing their Public Safety Platform containing 6 specific proposals:
1) Introduce the Mayor’s Integrated Public Safety Council
2) Establish Minimum Thresholds for Service Levels in Accordance with the RCMP Contract Accountability Provisions
3) Double the Amount of Officers on Patrol & Accelerate Hiring of 95 New RCMP Officers to 2015
4) Double the Amount of Bylaw Officers in the Community
5) Invest $4 million per year over 4 Years into a Crime Prevention through Social Development (CPSD) Community Strategy
6) Launch a Public Awareness Campaign & Encourage Involvement with the RCMP Public Crime Prevention Programs & the Surrey Crime Prevention Society
“The creation of the Safe Surrey Coalition and their Public Safety Platform comes directly as a result of what has been heard from Surrey residents since launching his campaign,” said McCallum.
“People are fearful in neighbourhoods across Surrey, and are looking for leadership, detailed proposals, and most importantly, a plan for action on the issue of public safety,” says McCallum. “The Safe Surrey Coalition represents a group of candidates with diverse community involvement, political affiliations and professional backgrounds that are united by one overpowering concern: Public Safety.”
McCallum’s opponent Hepner responded to his plan to fund new policing by selling off the successful Surrey City Development Corporation by saying it makes absolutely no sense.
“The Surrey City Development Corporation pays the city a $4.5 million dividend annually, and has helped to attract $11 billion in private sector investments, allowing Surrey to invest $5 billion in community infrastructure without raising property taxes,” said Hepner.
The Candidates:
For Mayor!
Doug McCallum served proudly as a Surrey City Councillor between 1993-1996 and as Mayor of Surrey between 1996-2005. He also sat as the Chair of Translink from 2002-2005, a Director of the Big Cities Mayors’ Caucus, and currently sits as a Director on the Law Foundation of BC.
City Council Candidates
Beau Simpson
Beau Simpson is the Editor of the Surrey Now newspaper, and for the past seven years he has been at the heart of local coverage for the city’s most difficult issues. Under his leadership, the paper has won a number of provincial and national awards, in addition to earning awards recognizing his own efforts. His community service project dubbed “Junior Journalists” earned Beau national recognition for not only grooming the next generation of media leaders, but also teaching a sense of citizenship and responsibility amongst young people. Beau believes in a balanced perspective to public policy that attempts to understand and incorporate the many sides to every story. More specifically, his coverage of Surrey politics has witnessed the deterioration of this approach at City Hall, causing many communities like Cloverdale to feel isolated and ignored.
Justin Thind
Born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan, Justin Thind has immersed himself and his young family into the City of Surrey since being called to the Bar of British Columbia as a lawyer in 2006. He is a managing partner in a full service law group that is proud to be a part of the dynamic Surrey business community. Simply put, whether in the Surrey Provincial Court, or at the neighbourhood level, Justin has witnessed the impacts of local crime first hand. He sees how Surrey’s growth is strongly encouraged by the current Mayor and Council, and yet the proper resources to deal with the issues attached to such rapid change have not kept pace. \
Rina Gill
Rina Gill Surrey municipal politics in the 2008 election, where she placed 9th, missing a spot on City Council by one place. Rina continued her involvement with local civic issues following this experience, and is excited to once again put her passion and commitment for community up for the consideration of Surrey’s voters.
Laurie Guerra
Laurie Guerra is a 25-year resident of Surrey that views the local community as an extension her immediate family. Living in the Fleetwood area with her husband and five children, Laurie built simultaneous careers in real estate and yoga instruction after achieving international success in the entertainment industry. Laurie recently became the captain of her neighbourhood Block Watch and enrolled in Athabasca University to pursue a political science degree at the age of 51.
