Surrey Mayor Doug McCallum has “temporarily” bowed out of Surrey Police Board meetings.
The announcement was made at the end of the June 1 board meeting. In a subsequent press release Melissa Granum, the board’s executive director, said that “in consultation with” the board, McCallum decided to absent himself from board meetings “for the next few months.
“Under the Police Act, the chair does not have the option to step down from the role and he cannot delegate his responsibilities as chair,” Granum said. “However, the Act allows the board to elect a chair for meetings at which the chair is absent. Moving forward, the board will select a chair from among themselves to conduct board business until after the municipal election in October.”
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McCallum has been under pressure to step down as chairman of the Surrey Police Board until his criminal charge of public mischief is dealt with in court. His trial is set for Oct. 31, two weeks after the Oct. 15 civic election in which he intends to run for a second consecutive term as mayor with Safe Surrey Coalition.
There are two more board meetings prior to the election, with the next one set for July 6.
tom.zytaruk@surreynowleader.com
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