Ideological differences underlie Coun. Barinder Rasode's decision to leave Surrey First

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      For the past few weeks, I've been hearing rumblings that Surrey councillor Barinder Rasode might be considering running for mayor of B.C.'s second-largest city.

      For years, New Democrats have viewed Rasode and veteran councillor Judy Villeneuve as the progressive voices in the Surrey First party.

      Their presence on the slate helped Mayor Dianne Watts's party win landslide victories in 2008 and 2011.

      But today, the future of the Surrey First coalition is in question after Rasode bolted from the party and announced that she'll run as an independent in the 2014 election.

      Rasode has also stated that if Watts doesn't seek reelection, she might run for mayor.

      There are lots of issues being cited to justify her decision, including public safety in the wake of the murder of Julie Paskall in Newton, Rasode's removal as chair of the police committee, and the lack of democracy at City Hall.

      Trouble surfaced earlier this year when Watts "liked" some Facebook posts that condemned Rasode's response to the Paskall killing.

      But let's not kid ourselves.

      This dispute is not merely personal—as much as the media might enjoy seeing two influential women publicly squabbling—nor is it based on a couple of issues.

      The roots are really ideological.

      Watts has revealed herself to be far more conservative than some of her previous supporters, including Rasode, might have realized.

      This was apparent in 2011 when Watts welcomed the long-time voice of the right in Surrey municipal politics, Coun. Marvin Hunt, as a candidate with Surrey First. They were previously council colleagues with the Surrey Electors Team before Watts bolted to run as an independent.

      Watts has also relied on some of the same advisers as Kevin Falcon, the former B.C. Liberal heavyweight from Surrey.

      She invited former U.S. president George Bush to an economic summit in Surrey even though Bush is viewed by many on the left as a war criminal for launching a war of aggression in Iraq without the support of the UN Security Council.

      The organizer of that summit, Norman Stowe, is a long-time backer of the B.C. Liberals and served as Falcon's campaign manager in his ill-fated leadership campaign. Under Watts's leadership, Surrey First has steadfastly opposed the introduction of a ward system, ensuring well-heeled campaign contributors retain a disproportionate influence over the civic government.

      Meanwhile, Watts is also being rumoured as a future candidate for Stephen Harper's Conservatives in South Surrey–White Rock–Cloverdale.

      And as long as Watts remains mayor, Surrey will probably never create its own police force, relying instead on a contract with the RCMP.

      The RCMP cemented its connection with Surrey by moving its E Division to the city, likely ensuring that the municipality will continue to be policed by the Mounties long into the future if Watts remains in the mayor's chair.

      The downside of this, as any veteran city police officer will explain, is that there aren't enough Mounties in Surrey to provide adequate protection. For years, they would only send one officer to a domestic dispute, which is one of the most dangerous situations any cop can find himself or herself in.

      The RCMP and Harper have also been steadfast opponents of supervised-injection sites to address drug addiction, notwithstanding a mountain of scientific evidence showing that the Vancouver facility saves lives and curbs street disorder.

      With her background with the Canadian Auto Workers, Rasode just didn't fit into Surrey First's right-wing mindset.

      Meanwhile, New Democrats recognize that Premier Christy Clark is in a vulnerable position.

      The economy is on the skids. There's a police investigation into issues arising out of Clark's deputy minister's report on the B.C. Liberal party's ethnic-outreach strategy. If things go awry for the premier, B.C. Liberals might want to look to Watts to take over as leader before the 2017 election.

      That's another reason for New Democrats to try to weaken the hold of Watts and other right wingers over Surrey politics.

      Rasode's Indian heritage would make her an attractive candidate in a city with a substantial population of progressively minded voters of South Asian descent.

      So here's the plan, as far as I can tell. If Watts seeks reelection in November, New Democrats will try to get Rasode elected to council as an independent.

      Then Rasode will be primed to seek the mayor's chair in 2015 should Watts choose to run for Parliament.

      And if Watts decides instead to remain as mayor until there's a vacancy at the top of the B.C. Liberal party, Rasode could easily remain on council as one of her fiercest critics, weakening Watts's political credibility with a relentless series of attacks.

      Comments

      7 Comments

      Shepsil

      Apr 17, 2014 at 11:18am

      Thanks Charlie, good article. Glad to see Barinder Rasode is beginning to see the progressive light of politics.

      collarbone o'hare

      Apr 17, 2014 at 1:58pm

      Surrey is rife with social, housing, transportation, policing, planning and development problems....as well as becoming a little more sophisticated. Neo-liberal and neo-con policies cannot solve or even address these growing pains - their days are over, and many of them know it. Finally, some of their citizens are beginning to realize it. There is no shortage of savvy, progressive and dynamic people in the Indo-Canadian population. All the best to Barinder.

      Elvenkitty

      Apr 17, 2014 at 3:15pm

      "Neo-liberal and neo-con policies cannot solve or even address these growing pains - their days are over, and many of them know it."

      It's kinda disingenuous to say that about Rasode when she's calling for a very neoliberal solution to crime in more cops.

      I fear that Rasode is only about as "progressive" as Vision Vancouver, which does not bode well for Surrey. Whalley is already being gentrified, and now in Newton where I live I'm seeing lots more cops and lots of "revitalization" rhetoric. The Surrey RCMP also recently announced a crackdown on jaywalking, which reminds me of how VPD hands out most of its jaywalking (among other minor things) tickets in the DTES.

      Maybe it's a step in the right direction. But it's certainly not far enough. And the rumors that Rasode has been talking with Doug McCallum are equally worrying since Surrey First is essentially McCallum's old pro-developer slate with a token progressive (Villeneuve, Rasode was the other token progressive), different figurehead, and some respect for LGBT students.

      Peter Virk

      Apr 17, 2014 at 4:26pm

      In my opinion Rasode is not liked by the NDP. She ditched them after her loss with the NDP associated slate of surrey civic coalition in 2005. Also I think she will lose her next election. She's getting all her advice from developer Bob Cheema

      Save Vancouver

      Apr 17, 2014 at 7:40pm

      "The economy is on the skids", really Charlie, really?

      Jennifer Ellis

      May 1, 2014 at 1:38pm

      The Province

      Surrey First Failed Surrey 68% Voters want New Team, not .Rasode, Gill, Hepner or Hayne..

      Jeff Ford While the outgoing Mayor Watts Surrey First Team gets ... First Failed Surrey 68% Voters want New Team, not Rasode,Hepner, Gill or