This article was last updated on April 16, 2022
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The mostly quiet political stage of Surrey and Mayor Dianne Watts was shaken by an announcement of outspoken councilor, Barinder Rasode, who stated on Thursday morning that she is quitting the mayor’s party to run as an independent. According to Rasode, she is “strongly” considering running for mayor in order to allow public to have a choice other than the Surrey First party which, according to her, is increasingly less open and engaged with Surrey citizens.
Rasode added that her decision to run for mayor is not dependent on whether Ms. Watts leaves city politics to run for the Conservatives in a recently freed-up Surrey riding, i.e. quite frequently heard rumour across the area. In her remarks, Ms. Rasode alleged that there needs to be a change because the mayor “has pulled more stuff into her boardroom” where things are decided out of the public eye.
Ms. Rasode is a former NDP constituency assistant who was recruited to be part of the Surrey First team six years ago as part of Ms. Watts’s efforts to form a council representing a broad spectrum of interests. Ms. Rasode has become progressively vocal in the past few months regarding what she says has been Surrey’s lack of action in dealing with crime and its spending on the new $90-million city hall. Speaking about her recent e-mail to fellow councilors, she mentioned in a recent interview that “I’m made to feel like I’m betraying my team by asking questions publicly.”
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