Editor: It’s City election time again and the citizens of Langley City have a chance to review the record of our present mayor, Peter Fassbender, and his council of Gayle Martin, Rosemary Wallace, Rudy Storteboom, Jack Arnold, Dave Hall and Teri James.
I have read and listened to the usual rhetoric of the mayor and his council that want to be elected again. To hear them talk, they have done everything in their power to keep our taxes low and give us what we want. Our taxes have been going up every year. Langley City is only four square miles and we have a bureaucracy in our City hall that increases every year. The mayor and councillors have received a substantial wage increase while seniors and families in Langley City are struggling to make ends meet.
This spring our mayor and council, behind closed doors, voted to give the City of Surrey $8.5 million to build two overpasses over the railway tracks.Those overpasses do nothing for Langley City. We still have level crossings at Fraser Highway, 200 Street and the Langley Bypass.
We are getting lights to warn us that the train is coming and to take another route. I feel sorry for all the businesses on 200 Street, Fraser Highway and the Bypass. We will be avoiding these businesses for fear we will be delayed by the train. The overpasses to be built will start in Surrey and end in Surrey.
All council members voted to give Surrey this money except two. I suggest the people of Langley vote only for those two. We need independent people on our council who think for themselves and think of the people of Langley City.
Our mayor recently voted to allow TransLink to raise tax on fuel by two cents a litre to fund an extension to rapid transit to the Tri-Cities. Also, he voted to allow TransLink to tax our property for more money. TransLink should have been told, until they trim the bureaucracy and do something about the fare evaders, there will be no extensions to rapid transit.
Instead, our mayor told us he had to vote for the increase — there was nothing he could do. He neglected to tell you that there is also a two cent a litre increase in the carbon tax to take effect at the same time.
Not long ago, Mayor Fassbender was quote in the news saying he hated the politicians who were always cutting ribbons and turning sod to get publicity. Isn’t it amazing the number of times our mayor is in front of TV cameras telling us they had no choice but to tax us more, or give our money away, or how wonderful things are in Langley City.
We have a choice for mayor this year, and I hope the people of Langley City send a message to Mayor Fassbender that we are tax weary. It is time to tighten the belt. The taxpayers of Langley City are wrung dry. The money pit is no more.
As for the four council members that vote for whatever our mayor wants, it is time they were out. Remember, you do not have to vote for six council members. You can vote for one, two, three, four, five or six. Pick carefully, we have to put up with them for another term.
Myrt Lemky,
Langley City
