Defeated Surrey mayor Doug McCallum withdraws request for vote recount
Surrey mayor Doug McCallum’s party, Safe Surrey Coalition, has announced it will no longer call for a vote recount.
This comes after Surrey Connect’s Brenda Locke was determined as the mayor-elect of Surrey, with less than a 1,000 vote difference between McCallum.
In his speech Saturday night, McCallum congratulated Locke and said, “The people have spoken.”
“That’s what elections are all about. Our residents are the best residents that I’ve ever seen, I love all of them, and it’s their choice as to who they want to see as mayor and on Council. They made that decision tonight, and I respect that because I respect the residents of this great city. I wish good luck to Mayor-elect Locke and the councillors.”
However, on Monday, McCallum rescinded his concession speech and the party added, “McCallum is not conceding at this point in time.”
But in an update Friday, the party said, “Upon further review from our legal advisors of The Local Elections Act section 148 for a judicial recount, the Safe Surrey Coalition has decided to no longer pursue a judicial recount.”
During his time as Surrey’s mayor, McCallum has been embroiled in controversies.
Last year, McCallum found himself in legal issues relating to mischief after an altercation in a grocery store parking lot.
Just earlier this week he was in the hot seat for returning his City-owned SUV with collision following his loss in Saturday’s election.
This was McCallum’s sixth municipal campaign.
Voter turnout in Surrey’s 2022 civic election was 34.5% — up from 32.9% in 2018.
With files from Kenneth Chan