Eric Woodward, the Fort Langley property owner who has been embroiled in a dispute with Langley Township, is now considering running for mayor.
Woodward posted a video on his Facebook page Wednesday, in which he is interviewed by Lower Mainland media personality Fiona Forbes.
“I’m definitely thinking about it, yes,” Woodward said of whether he’s planning to run.
“I’ve been attending council meetings for almost seven years,” Woodward said. “From what I’ve seen, we can be doing things a lot better than we are.”
He said more public consultation should be done at the beginning of development rather than the end.
Woodward said he is not likely to run for a council position.
A decision will happen at the end of the summer, Woodward said.
Asked about conflicts of interests related to his business, Woodward said he would recuse himself from any such votes.
“My business interests in Langley are well known, hyper localized to Fort Langley only, which really helps with that,” Woodward said. “I would continue to be completely transparent with that, as I have been for many years.”
He mentioned a number of issues around development and the future of Aldergrove, Brookswood, and Willoughby, as well as speaking about green energy.
Woodward owns more than 30 per cent of the downtown commercial core of Fort Langley.
As part of his disputes with the Township over developing some of his properties, he has taken a number of actions in the last six months, including:
• Painting a vacant house on Mary Avenue pink in October, before having it painted grey
• A Facebook post in which he announced he was surrendering in the face of Township of Langley requirements for his development proposals
• Boarding up several vacant buildings, including storefronts in the downtown core
• Posting blown-up versions of letters from a Fraser Health health inspector saying two of the boarded-up buildings were vermin-infested and should be demolished
• Announcing the creation of a pop-up park on Glover Road and Mary Avenue, to include hammocks, picnic spots, and outdoor hammocks.