Langley Township councillor Kim Richter is running for mayor in 2018.
Richter made the announcement in an advertisement that ran in the Langley Times on Nov. 15.
“Enough is Enough,” the ad states.
“Two weeks ago, six of the nine current members on Langley Township council (including the mayor) voted to say it’s okay for elected members of council to bid on Township work, get Township work, and have their businesses benefit from Township resources while on council.
“I believe this is not OK.”
READ MORE: Township council defeats conflict of interest motion
Richter’s statement refers to a motion she brought forward on Nov. 6 — which council defeated — that sought to pass formal legislation to disallow sitting members of council to bid on Township work, or to use their businesses to bid on Township work, for the duration of their tenure on council.
Richter made the motion after the Township hired Coun. Angie Quaale’s business to cater a farm tour in September. The Township’s legal team found no fault with the matter, however Richter still believes it was a conflict of interest.
In a follow-up interview with the Times, Richter said that this vote was “the straw that broke the camel’s back.”
“When I made the decision to do this (run for mayor) — because I thought about it, and then I thought, ‘Yeah, it’s time’ — I sat down with a pad of paper and a pen, and I said, ‘OK, if I’m going to do this, what is it that I want?’” Richter said.
“And in a space of 20 minutes, I came up with a list of 27 items that I wanted to change, resolve, fix. And I’m looking at that and thinking, ‘I have been so frustrated for such a long time,’ and I don’t think I realized the extent of my frustration.”
Richter is currently serving her sixth term as a councillor in the Township, and works as a business management instructor at Kwantlen Polytechnic University.
Although she hasn’t finalized her platform, she did share some of the issues she plans to bring forward in the municipal election.
Among them: “ethics with higher public scrutiny,” which refers to the amount of business that council does in camera; traffic, parking and truck traffic on 216 Street north of the new Highway 1 interchange; property tax increases; responsible development; environmental and farm stewardship, including a tree bylaw across the entire Township; and phasing of development in Brookswood-Fernridge.
Incumbent mayor Jack Froese confirmed he will be running for another term in 2018 and said he welcomes Richter’s candidacy.
“I think it’s great,” Froese said.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
Froese is currently serving his second term as mayor of Langley Township.
In B.C., municipal voters will go to the polls on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018.