Three of B.C.'s most experienced local politicians will be trying to stave off forced retirement at the hand of voters on Saturday (October 20).

Richmond councillor Harold Steves, 81, was first elected in 1968.

Delta mayor Lois Jackson, 80, was first elected to council in 1972 and is running again for council this year after spending 19 years as mayor.

Burnaby mayor Derek Corrigan, the spring chicken of the trio at 66 years of age, joined council in 1987. He became mayor of the region's third-largest city in 2002 and has never lost an election.

Steves could face the toughest fight after coming fifth in the race for eight council seats in 2014.

In the late 1960s, he persuaded the NDP to embrace the idea of an Agricultural Land Reserve, which was created by the Barrett government after he was elected as an MLA in 1972.

After his one term in the legislature, he returned to Richmond council, making a name for himself as an outspoken advocate for the protection of farmland.

In his recent term, Steves has infuriated members of the Richmond Farmland Owners Association by criticizing the development of large houses on agricultural properties.

The association has pointed out that Steves is named in service-agreement documents as a co-developer of land that was taken out of his own farm.

Steves reportedly said that the houses were built on his brother's land.

Richmond Farmland Owners Association spokesperson Ben Dhiman has questioned why Steves has been so willing to criticize large single homes built by property owners of South Asian and Chinese ancestry even though his family's site is being subdivided into nine residential lots.

Richmond Community Coalition council candidate Parm Bains—a former student of Steves's—has accused him of trying to "capitalize on resentment towards varied community groups".

Earlier this year, Steves issued a public apology after he came under fire for the tweet below.

https://twitter.com/harold_steves/status/969268402987528193?lang=en

The RCMP said that the attack at the library "was not racially or ethnically motivated”.

Meanwhile in Delta, Jackson has joined the Achieving for Delta council slate of mayoral candidate and former chief administrative officer George Harvie.

Harvie's opponents include two-term councillor and former NDP candidate Sylvia Bishop and former Delta police chief Jim Cessford.

Bishop's slate is called Team Delta and Cessford heads a group called Independents Working for You, which includes incumbent councillors Jeannie Kanakos and Bruce McDonald.

Earlier this month, incumbents with Team Delta and Independents Working for You held a joint news conference accusing Harvie of distorting his role about a recommended financial benefit to the mayor and councillors at the end of their term. 

The third veteran facing a tough fight is Corrigan, who's mayoral opponent is former firefighter Mike Hurley.

Hurley is supported by the New Westminster and District Labour Council as well as the Green party's council candidates.

Corrigan chairs the TransLink Mayors' Council, but in his own city, he's under fire for council not expanding the RCMP detachment and evictions of tenants in Metrotown.

Between them, Steves, Jackson, and Corrigan have well over a century of municipal political experience, and all have been regional heavyweights on the board of Metro Vancouver.

In fact, Jackson chaired the regional district from 2006 to 2011.