Langley Township Councillor Mel Kositsky is seriously considering running for mayor in November.
Kositsky told The Times on Wednesday that he has been talking to supporters during the summer break, and many have urged him to run for mayor this fall. The municipal election is on Nov. 19.
Mayor Rick Green and Jack Froese have already announced their intentions to run for the top job on Township council.
Green has also put together a group known as Vote Langley Now, which is running seven candidates "as a group of independents" for Township council seats. When Vote Langley Now was unveiled at Murrayville Hall on July 26, Green said that the group was not running a candidate for the eighth position on council because it wanted to see Kositsky re-elected.
Kositsky, the longest-serving member of council, "deserves to be respected," Green said, as he does not attack Green when he disagrees with him.
"I've been the backup quarterback to three mayors," Kositsky said. "It may be time to put my name on the line and go for the starter's job."
He wants to consult widely within the community before making his final decision. He said he will definitely be running for council, either as mayor or as councillor.
Kositsky is the longest-serving member of Township council. He was first elected in 1993, and has been since re-elected for five consecutive three-year terms. Of the current members of council, only Councillor Steve Ferguson sat on council before him. Ferguson was off council for six years, from 1996 to 2002.
Kositsky said he will make his decision as to which position he will be seeking in the next few weeks, and expects to make an announcement sometime around Sept. 12, when Township council resumes meeting.
Thus far, there are the two declared candidates for mayor, and 10 people have declared they are running for councillor positions. The only incumbent among those 10 is Councillor Charlie Fox.
Most of the other incumbents are expected to run again, but Jordan Bateman resigned his seat on council in August to become B.C. director of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation.