Editor:
I couldn’t help but grab my popcorn and settle in for the latest episode of “Locke and Loaded,” Surrey’s municipal policing soap opera starring Mayor Brenda Locke.
Move over, Netflix – this drama is so real, it’s surreal.
Now, don’t get me wrong; I love a good plot twist, but Mayor Locke’s refusal to address the imposed police budget is the kind of cliffhanger even Hollywood would struggle to pull off.
She has her eyes set on the B.C. Supreme Court, hoping for a legal magic trick to save the day. It’s like watching a mayor play poker with taxpayer dollars – high stakes and an unpredictable hand.
And then there’s the $500,000 PR campaign. Bravo, Mayor Locke! It’s a masterpiece of misinformation. Claims of a “massive double-digit tax increase” and less money for schools, health, and transit – it’s like she’s trying to win an Oscar for political theatrics. I half-expect her to break into a musical number about the perils of the NDP police transition.
Let’s not forget the star of the show, Mike Serr, the former Abbotsford police chief, and his budgetary magic trick. Even Mayor Locke, the leading lady, claims she’s not fully briefed and can’t remember the budget figure.
I’ve seen better memory lapses in a sitcom.
Now, Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth is considering forcing the budget on Surrey, and Mayor Locke’s response is a classic. “Sometimes things are said that have to be reconsidered.” Really? In Surrey, it seems reconsidering is an Olympic sport.
In the spirit of constructive criticism, Mayor Locke, let’s cut the theatrics. Surrey deserves a leader who deals with budgets, not one who hopes for a court ruling to save the day. It’s time to put the spotlight back on the real issues and give Surrey the policing service it deserves – minus the drama.
Charles Broderick, Surrey