After leaving civic politics nearly six years ago, former Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner is throwing her hat into the ring to land the MLA seat in the riding of Surrey-Serpentine River.
The Conservative Party of BC announced today Hepner is the party’s candidate for the riding.
“I thought I was retired — but I can’t stand by and do nothing while Eby ruins my city. Not happening,” said Hepner in her statement this afternoon announcing her candidacy.
Hepner was the mayor of Surrey from 2014 to 2018, when she decided not to seek re-election. Prior to taking the mayoral seat, she was a city councillor for almost a decade.
As mayor, she championed major initiatives such as the Surrey Newton-Guildford light rail transit project, which was cancelled shortly after the 2018 civic election. Over the last few years, she has expressed her opposition to the decision to abandon the Surrey RCMP and transition to the municipal Surrey Police Service.
“What David Eby’s NDP put Surrey through is unforgivable — he has treated us like a second-class city. People are paying more taxes and getting fewer services in terms of schools, housing, healthcare, law enforcement — and everything else the government should do. Surrey has become more unaffordable and unsafe under Eby’s NDP,” continued Hepner.
“John Rustad and his Conservative team have been relentless in their opposition to Eby’s radical policies. Conservatives are the opposition.”
The riding of Surrey-Serpentine River is a new riding — basically a division of the existing Surrey-Cloverdale riding, which is currently represented by the BC NDP’s Mike Starchuk.
Hepner will be vying for the seat against the finalized candidates of lawyer Puneet Sandhar for the BC United and former RCMP officer Baltej Dhillon.
According to a Navigator survey conducted in late May 2024, the BC NDP still lead, with 47% of respondents indicating they would vote for the current governing party, representing a 1% decrease compared to the 2020 provincial election. The Conservative Party of BC has 32% (+30%), while BC United has fallen to 13% (-21%), and the Green Party of BC has dropped to 7% (-8%).
The provincial general election is scheduled for Saturday, October 19, 2024.