A Langley Township councillor will be the candidate for BC United in Langley-Walnut Grove in the next provincial election this coming October.
Barb Martens, who is serving her first term on council and was elected as part of the Contract with Langley (CWL) slate, is the second local BC United candidate to be named, after Karen Long in Langley-Abbotsford.
Martens’ career before local politics was with the Vancouver Police Department, and in social services. That is part of why she decided to run for a seat as an MLA.
“A lot of these are issues that are tackled at the provincial level,” Martens said.
If elected, Martens said she hoped to be a voice for North Langley on issues including crime, disorder, and homelessness.
“I’ll take whatever file they ask me to do,” she said.
Martens has been in Walnut Grove since 1994, and said she knows what matters to the people living there.
A founding member of the non-profit group BC Women in Law Enforcement, she worked in patrol, neighbourhood policing, crime analysis, and as a field trainer during her time with the VPD.
She also wrote research papers on homelessness while with the force.
After being elected to Township council, she’s been vocal on issues regarding the RCMP and public safety in general, including voting for staffing increases for the local detachment.
Martens’ candidacy was announced during a visit by BC United leader Kevin Falcon to Langley on Thursday, Jan. 11.
“I love your public service, but I really love that you’re former VPD,” Falcon said to Martens.
“A lot of the ex-police that really seem to gravitate to our party have been hugely helpful on the public safety issues,” he added, comparing her to BC United MLA Elenore Sturko.
Falcon said the three biggest crises in B.C. right now are cost of living, health care, and public safety.
“I think having someone like Barb as part of our team is going to be very helpful in buttressing the already good group of people that we have,” Falcon said.
Martens will run against current Langley East NDP MLA Megan Dykeman, who has already announced she will be running in Langley-Walnut Grove in the next election, expected in October.
Because of population growth and electoral district changes, Langley will move from having two ridings (Langley and Langley East) to three (Langley-Abbotsford, Langley-Walnut Grove, and Langley-Willoughby).
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