One Surrey Features A Diverse Group Of Young And Experienced With “Crime-Fighter” Dosanjh Being The Most High Profile!
“I think that looking at the personalities that have formed the team of One Surrey, one thing that speaks is their record on advocacy in the community,” mayoral candidate Barinder Raside said, adding “the culture of complacency where you hand the torch down to insiders is not something that people want.”
SURREY – Surrey mayoral candidate Barinder Rasode rolled-out what she called an experienced team of community leaders committed to fixing Surrey’s crime problem and making the tough decisions necessary to move the city forward.
“The One Surrey team is united by a commitment to building a safer and stronger Surrey,” says Rasode. “It’s time for new ideas and new approaches at City Hall – complacency has led to a culture of neglect and residents deserve better.”
Rasode pointed out that the challenges facing Surrey were highlighted earlier this week in a report issued by the SurreyCares community foundation which gave Surrey a D+ in crime and public safety.
One Surrey is anchored by people with expertise in public safety – Kal Dosanjh, a police officer with the Vancouver Police Department, and Merv Bayda, a former RCMP officer.
Rasode also enlisted the help of Canada’s longest serving Chief of Police, Delta’s Jim Cessford, to work with her in drafting a 10-point plan to crack down on crime and make Surrey one of the safest cities in Canada.
“The status quo is not working. We need to stop talking about Surrey’s crime problem and actually take action to fix the long-standing issues that are holding our city back.”
Rasode’s One Surrey team includes:
Maz Artang
Merv Bayda
Mike Bose
Darlene Bowyer
Narima Dela Cruz
Kal Dosanjh
Brian Young
The One Surrey team will present a full election platform in the coming weeks which will focus on public safety, transportation, controlling spending at City Hall, and community facilities for families.
Rasode is running for centre chair against former mayor Doug McCallum, Coun. Linda Hepner, health professional John Edwards and Vikram Bajwa.
Rasode split from her Surrey First team earlier this year to sit as an independent, claiming her teammates had become increasingly hostile after she spoke out about needing to do more on the public safety front.
“Why a team now? I think that’s a big one, because I stepped away as an independent and want independent voices,” Rasode told the Now newspaper on Tuesday.
“I think that looking at the personalities that have formed the team of One Surrey, one thing that speaks is their record on advocacy in the community,” she said, adding, “the culture of complacency where you hand the torch down to insiders is not something that people want.”
Asked what her response is to her critics who will likely say she wasn’t able to be part of a team, as demonstrated by her leaving Surrey First, Rasode said “the team will always remain the City of Surrey. Full stop. Who we’re accountable to are the residents.”
