Mayor lashes out at councillors for making ‘unfounded’ allegations against the city

Mayor Brenda Locke (pictured above) unloaded on Surrey First Coun. and mayoral candidate Linda Annis and Safe Surrey Coalition Coun. Mandeep Nagra at Monday’s council meeting, saying they had been putting their campaigns for the upcoming October municipal elections before their duties as city councillors. 

“It is completely unacceptable for elected officials to make unfounded allegations against city staff or spread misinformation in [an] attempt to shift political responsibility onto our professional staff, who are carrying out the lawful direction of this council,” Locke said. 

Locke said council’s code of conduct includes “treat[ing] city staff with respect and refrain[ing] from conduct that brings the office into disrepute, and never make accusations that are not supported by facts.” 

The code states that councillors must accurately communicate council decisions, even if they disagree with the majority of council. Members must also refrain from making disparaging comments about other council members or decisions. 

Locke said Annis had told the media that the city’s finances were a “mess” and asked her to specify what evidence she has to support this statement. 

When the city announced a new $360M arena, Annis said Locke had put taxpayers “on the hook” to fund the project with no private sector funding. She also speculated the final cost would be much higher than the initial estimate. 

The arena property will be secured through a land swap agreement under which the city will acquire the five-acre parcel at 10355 King George Blvd. in exchange for three city-owned parcels. However, in a July 3 press release, Annis said Locke had paid $28 million over the assessed value of the site. 

In council, Annis said she would be submitting a statement to the city manager immediately as to what her intentions were. 

However, in a July 14 press release, Annis said “Locke hates financial transparency and when she gets called out about her lack of financial common sense, she wants to point the finger at everyone but herself.” 

She added that Locke has been a burden on taxpayers and excessively spent on the arena, legal battles with the provincial government and “her board’s politically motivated firing of the chief [of police] means taxpayers are on the hook for a severance that will cost at least $500,000.”

“[The] city does have the responsibility to ensure a respectful and safe workplace for all of its employees … also a reminder to all council members that under our council code of conduct, council members must refrain from conduct that could be construed as bullying or harassing,” said city solicitor Philip Huynh.

Locke also said Nagra had made “completely unfair” comments regarding a land purchase.

Conservative Party of Surrey mayoral candidate Honveer Singh Randhawa claimed the city had made a “questionable” purchase when acquiring a 13.07-acre property on 152 Street for $6.8 million. City hall released a statement saying the negotiated price was supported by a third-party appraisal and about $1 million below appraised market value. 

Nagra had called for a police investigation into the purchase.

“If there is an innocent explanation, a police investigation will find it, and city hall has nothing to fear. But if this was corruption, Surrey deserves to know, and the people responsible must be held accountable. The public’s trust is on the line. Only the truth gets it back,” said Nagra previously. 

Nagra did not address any allegations at the council meeting. 

“Right now we are in what we unfortunately call the silly season, but we’re here to do the job. I want to ask again that everybody remains diligent in trying to make sure that the work that we do is honourable and truthful and is not disparaging our staff in any way,” said Locke.