Ted Schaffer chaired his final meeting as mayor of Langley City Monday night, ending his political career by thanking his family, supporters and residents of the City.
“I feel very humbled, honoured and privileged to have served the City of Langley for 25 years,” Schaffer said in speaking notes provided to Black Press prior to the meeting.
“Fulfilling my role on council would not have been possible without the support of my wonderful wife Jean, my family, my council colleagues with whom I’ve had the pleasure of working very closely, the great staff who work tirelessly to keep us moving in a positive direction, and of course, you, the citizens of this wonderful community of ours.”
“A community is not built by one man, or one woman, or one mayor, or one council, but by people like you and me who believe,” Schaffer added.
He welcomed new mayor Val van den Broek and councillors Teri James and Rosemary Wallace, saying they “will have the City’s best interests top of mind and keep it moving forward in a positive direction.”
Schaffer also noted that veteran Jack Arnold would not be returning, saying the veteran councillor has “served the community well” in a variety of roles.
Schaffer was first elected to Langley City council in 1990. He served continuously until 2008 before taking a three-year break. He then won re-election in November, 2011.
He was named acting Langley City mayor after council decided against holding a by-election to replace then-incumbent mayor Peter Fassbender, who left municipal politics after winning a seat as a Liberal MLA in Surrey in the 2013 provincial election.
He removed the “acting” title by running and winning the election as mayor in the 2014 municipal mayoralty race.
READ MORE: Langley City mayor Ted Schaffer won’t be seeking re-election (with video)
Late last year, Schaffer announced he would not seek another term because of health reasons.
He later revealed that he was diagnosed with an “aggressive” form of colon cancer, but follow-up tests since his surgery have been positive and his prognosis is good.
His decision to retire led to a mayoralty race between councillor van den Broek and former mayor Fassbender that ended with a win for the councillor, who will be sworn in as the new City mayor on Nov. 5.
Van den Broek has said she intends to model her mayoralty on Schaffer, whom she praised for his warmth and positivity.
Schaffer told Black Press that he will miss being mayor, but he is looking forward to having more time for family, especially “getting back to being with my wife.”
He predicted transit will be a major issue for the new council and mayor, especially given the promise by Surrey mayor Doug McCallum to cancel a proposed LRT line to Langley and re-direct the money to build a SkyTrain line instead.
The McCallum move “is not without some challenges,” Schaffer said, such as convincing the federal government to fund the change in plans.
“You don’t want to see federal funding disappear.”
Langley City council rejected Light Rapid Transit (LRT) for a planned link to Surrey during a closed-door meeting late last year, formally declaring SkyTrain would be a better choice.
“We would prefer SkyTrain if we had our druthers,” Schaffer said.
But since the less expensive LRT will likely be what actually gets built, council also said it would be willing to accept the less ideal technology, provided several conditions were met, among them an elevated track between Willowbrook Mall and east of 200 Street.
READ MORE: Langley City prefers SkyTrain but will accept LRT, with conditions that include an elevated line
While Schaffer was mayor, construction in the City hit record levels, with the value of building permits more than doubling to $100 million in 2017.
READ MORE: Langley City sets $100 million construction record
During his term of office, Langley City invested extensively in infrastructure that included roads, parks and public building projects.
The City became the first Canadian municipality to invest with the Bank of China, purchasing a $100,000 term deposit on terms comparable to those offered by Canadian banks, a move that Schaffer said encouraged developers to invest in Langley City projects.
dan.ferguson@langleytimes.com
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