Langley City’s mayor intends to run for BC Liberals

LANGLEY (NEWS1130) – A Metro Vancouver mayor is planning to jump into provincial politics.

The mayor in the city of Langley will announce his intentions tomorrow.

Peter Fassbender wants to take on the NDP’s Jagrup Brar in Surrey-Fleetwood as part of Christy Clark’s team.

Fassbender calls the upcoming provincial election pivotal.

“I believe we have some choices ahead of us, and I want to provide an opportunity for the voters in that riding to have a choice,” he says.

He’s been a rumoured candidate for a while now, and Fassbender says he’s had conversations about it for years.

“My track record as a local mayor has shown that while I have worked very hard  for my own community, I have been working hard for the region and for the province through my involvement in TransLink, the Fraser Health municipal advisory council, Fraser Health, RCMP contract negotiations, and a number of other, more regional and provincial issues,” describes Fassbender.

He has been very vocal in his fight for a resolution to fund transit and OMNI TV’s political reporter Kim Emerson says that could be fueling this.

“It’s a lot easier to fight for what you want and what you need from inside a caucus table and inside a cabinet table than it is to try and complain from the outside,” he says.

Emerson says he may have had hints dropped his way in regards to a position as transportation minister. “It’s not unheard of for someone to be promised a position or a post in cabinet, but at this stage in the game and with the way things are, it’s unlikely.”

He says what the Liberals are likely doing is trying to find the candidates who will give them the best possible chance at winning any seat they can because they know it’s going to be a fight.