The organizer of a by-invitation meet-and-greet for Langley Township council candidates said they aren’t excluding anyone, but only those who were invited will be speaking.
“The event is open to all to attend, but only selected candidates have been invited to give a very brief presentation on why they’re running,” said Steve Schafer of the Canadian Foundation for Better Government, the group that organized the meeting.
The announcement by the foundation listed committed attendees as incumbents mayor Jack Froese, councillors Blair Whitmarsh and Angie Quaale, former Councillor Bev Dornan, and new candidates Margaret Kunst and Michael Pratt.
” … we support these candidates, and are interested in promoting them,” Schafer said in an emailed response to questions from the Times.
“Our criteria is mostly based on viewing the role of councillor through the lens of fiscal responsibility and personal integrity.”
There will be two events, one on Thursday, Sept. 20 at the Aldergrove Kinsman Centre at 26770 29 Ave. from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. and one on Friday, Sept. 21 from 4:45 p.m. to 6:45 p.m. at Mountainview Alliance Church, located at 7640 200 St.
Schafer said they will be serving food for the first 200 guests who show up to each event.
He said the foundation is a non-profit organization “that has advocated for the principles of fiscal responsibility, democracy, and good governance across Canada.” It was formed in November, 2016 as the national replacement for the Foundation for Better Government, a B.C. society incorporated in 2014 that has been dissolved.
The federal corporation information website shows the Canadian Foundation for Better Government was incorporated as a non-profit corporation in 2016 with three directors, Schafer, who is a Langley resident, Bert Chen, also of Langley, and Sacha Peter of Vancouver.
Schafer said there are five other people on a board of advisors.
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In 2017, Schafer, who was president of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Cloverdale – Langley City Electoral District Association, helped to organize the only Conservative leadership debate in the Fraser Valley, held at the Darvonda greenhouse in Langley.
He said the foundation was not involved in that event.
READ MORE: Langley Times municipal election coverage
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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