Editor: In The Times of Sept. 18, the story “Mayor defends LEC process” just ticked me off.
Frankly, I haven’t followed Township politics or felt any reason to vote for quite some time. There was no one I trusted with my vote. Township politics have been controversial for many years.
Eventually, I did feel Jack Froese was that person and gave him my vote. After reading this report and Councillor Grant Ward’s letter to the editor, I found myself going back to read the opening statement in Mayor Froese’s 2012 message to Langley taxpayers.
This is how it read: “What does quality of life mean to you? In the Township of Langley, it means being able to live in a place that provides a unique mix of urban amenities and the great outdoors, where there is one job for every resident in the labour force, and the past and the environment are respected as we grow and build towards the future.”
Further along in this statement, the mayor made a commitment to honour our history.
Ward asks a question in his letter “How are we going to pay for this expansion, or will it actually detract from other projects?” Part of his answer is land sales.
My suggestion would be to hire a consultant, and do a review of the exact costs to taxpayers of Langley for all the benefits and perks managers receive. My guess is it could pay for the expansion, as well as a new pool in Aldergrove. Or, if there truly is no money set aside, let it wait.
Just the idea of cutting down trees for any Township project is not honouring our history. It is a joke.
Sadly, another mayor’s deceit does not honour Langley’s history, only our political history. We now have the problems of a big city.
Doing business of this nature behind closed doors suggests a hidden agenda.
In 1999, voters elected a mayor and council with a vision of bringing a downtown Vancouver lifestyle to the Township of Langley. In doing so, our municipal government greed, power and dirty politics has continued to grow. It is done just because they can.
I feel deceived by the mayor’s recent actions and I am sorry I gave him my vote.
I’m tired of the rhetoric.
Colleen Van Leersum,
Aldergrove