Glen Tomblin was 17 when he became involved in politics. When he was elected to the Calgary Volunteer Board he became the youngest member, and advocated for equal social opportunities for teenagers with physical and mental disabilities.
He volunteered at Christine Meikle School, an academy for students with severe and complex needs, where he worked as a counselor responsible for programming.
Tomblin coached basketball for the deaf and hard of hearing students at Stanley Jones School.
From these experiences grew his belief that teenagers with special needs should be included in both the school system and in social circles. Tomblin, along with others, formed the Pink Pelican Club, which is known today as the Between Friends Club.
As part of his commitment to helping people with special needs, he employed 16 people with hearing disabilities. He has been involved in a number of events and organizations, including Journey For Sight, Big Brothers and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.
A local business owner, Tomblin has lived in the Township for 25 years. He has founded several companies in the printing and food wholesale industries in B.C., Alberta and Ontario.
Over the years, he has watched the municipality develop and mature, but is not happy with the rate of development which has accelerated at a rate “that has made Langley feel unfamiliar to many of us.”
He said: “We need a council that understands how to effectively serve the diverse needs of the citizens in the Township, not the needs of property developers and land speculators. Rapid development without a proper long-term plan inevitably undermines critical infrastructure and transportation projects, ultimately wasting our time and our tax dollars.”
He added that unchecked development leads to “hodgepodge clusters of cookie-cutter structures that elicit little pride and fails to reflect the kind of unique beauty we all absolutely deserve.”
So that Langley is “carefully and proactively planned,” he suggests that a long-range 25-year blueprint be created that integrates development criteria, infrastructure projects and public transit initiatives in a cost-effective way to create an efficient and beautiful Township that will make residents proud.
Tomblin said that the current council only knows how to manage problems, not solve problems. Since taking office, the “six-pack” on council has spent millions of tax dollars, yet achieved no major victories for Township residents.
“This council has failed on their promises, abandoned those who elected them, and bankrupted our trust. The time has come to complete the change we all wanted in 2008.”
He is running with the Vote Langley Now group. Tomblin has run for Langley Township council on several occasions in the past, and in 2002 he ran for Langley City mayor on an amalgamation platform.