Who will be the mayor of Langley Township come October?
Right now, it’s looking pretty anticlimactic. Unless a new, high-profile challenger appears, it’s going to be incumbent Jack Froese. He might be the only name on the ballot.
In the last few weeks, two possible challengers have stepped away from the race for mayor.
Councillor Kim Richter has been on Township council for almost two decades. She has a lot of name recognition and has been an outspoken voice on too many issues to name over the years. But she decided to stick to running for council again.
Eric Woodward, the sometimes-controversial Fort Langley landowner, decided likewise that running for council was a better idea than running for mayor.
They’re not entirely wrong. We have what’s known as a “weak mayor” system in British Columbia.
The mayor has just one vote, no more or less than any councillor. The office hosts a handful of singular powers, but most of them are seldom used.
And yet, we hope there is a good, solid challenger in the race. The mayoral election and debates draw a bit more attention than the scattered races of two-dozen-plus councillors. It’s a good opportunity for debate on key local issues – development, property taxes, growth, transportation, and infrastructure.
Whoever wins on Oct. 20, we hope the voters can see a thorough debate before election day on these and the other issues that will face our next mayor.
– M.C.