Changes to Advanced Voting and Other Housekeeping Matters for Upcoming Election

October 17 is election day for all local governments in BC. As is typical, local governments review their election-related bylaws. On Monday, Council gave the first, second, and third readings to approve, in principle, several changes as outlined in this post. Adoption of these changes to bring them into force will be considered at the next Council meeting.

Most people know about advance voting, which is open to all eligible voters. Langley City also had two Special Voting Opportunities: one at the Evergreen Timbers, restricted to residents of that care home, and one at the Langley Senior Resources Centre, for its members only. On average, about 40 people took advantage of those opportunities.

In the 2022 election, the Langley Senior Resources Centre was designated as an advance voting location open to all eligible voters. Langley City staff did an evaluation and found that the Langley Senior Resources Centre location had a lower turnout than other advanced voting days at Timms Community Centre. Langley Senior Resources Centre also noted some challenges with having voting at their locations, as it disrupted their programming.

As a result, advanced voting will now take place only at Timms Community Centre, with four advanced voting days, maintaining the same number of days as in the 2022 election.

Every vote matters. In the 2022 election, one member of Langley City Council was elected by two votes. It is important that we make it easy for folks to vote, including people with limited mobility or other disabilities. In 2022, Langley City introduced mail-in ballots, which expanded voting opportunities.

8 people took advantage of the special voting at Evergreen Timbers in the 2022 election. The City will be discontinuing this special voting opportunity. The City instead will work with all long-term care providers to ensure everyone is aware of mail-in ballots and curbside voting opportunities during advance voting days and on general election day.

Most people believe that Canada is fully metric, but we actually aren’t, which means our laws and bylaws use both imperial and metric measurements. Langley City’s sign bylaw allows 4’ x 4’ or .91m x .91m as the maximum size for election signage. Now .91m is actually 3’, so there was a discrepancy. During the last election, all candidates had 4’ x 4’ signs. To make the bylaw consistent, the maximum metric size was increased to 1.2m x 1.2m.

Downtown Langley Business Owner, Young Entrepreneur, Lifelong Citizen Join Langley City First Team

Langley City First is proud to announce three new endorsed candidates joining Mayor Nathan Pachal, Councillors Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, and Rosemary Wallace on the team.

From Left to Right: Mike Solyom, Rosemary Wallace, Shawn Caldera, Nathan Pachal, Jeff Jacobs, Heather Jenkins, Paul Albrecht

“I’m extremely excited that Heather Jenkins has agreed to be part of the team,” said Rhianna Reddekopp, who founded Langley City First. “She is the amazing business owner of 1 Fish 2 Fish Fresh Seafood Market, a Downtown Langley institution.”

“I’ve served with her on the Downtown Langley Business Association Board and know that Heather has a solid understanding of business, governance, and working as a team player in making our city a better place.”

Over the last 28 years, she has won many awards, including Business of the Year, Environmental Hero, and 25 years of Langley Readers’ Choice.

Langley City First is also proud to have Shawn Caldera join the team. After building his successful business, Shawn started helping others create economic development strategies for the digital economy. He currently works for a large digital content creation firm.

“Shawn puts people first and is about building community. I see him regularly out and about in Langley City as he leads local residents in recreational events,” said Reddekopp.

Jeff Jacobs has agreed to be part of the Langley City First Team. Jeff is a lifelong resident of Langley City. He is a long-time municipal worker and labour movement leader, has volunteered on Langley City’s Crime Prevention Committee for many years, and has run for a council seat in the 2022 civic election, narrowly missing out.

“We are proud to have Jeff on the Langley City First Team to bring his experience and expertise to Langley City Council in this upcoming election,” said Reddekopp.

“I’ve watched our city grow into a thriving community over the years,” said Jacobs, “I want to ensure that Langley City becomes a hub for interactive, innovative, and sustainable activities for everyone who lives and visits.”

As a registered Elector Organization, Langley City First has a united team in this fall's civic elections that is committed to defending and advancing the following values:

• Building A City for the Future
• Enhancing Green Space
• Investing in Safety and Livability
• Fostering Community Connection
• Creating a Resilient Community with Appropriate Infrastructure and Responsible Fiscal Stewardship
• Supporting a Team Where Independent Voices Work as a Cohesive Team

Langley City First believes in our community, its people, its businesses, and its potential, and we are committed to moving the city forward through collaborative leadership, safe communities, and responsible growth for today and future generations.

I wanted to reshare this post from Langley City First. To learn more about the team and its values, please check out the Langley City First website.

Langley City First Team Running in Fall Municipal Election

In 2024, a group of concerned long-time Langley City citizens met to discuss the future of our community. Our goal was to ensure that Langley City continues to move forward, looking out for the safety of residents and growth for businesses from an accountable and effective local government.

“Seeing what was going on with politics in Langley, we wanted to ensure that Langley City remains an independent community,” said Rhianna Reddekopp, who founded Langley City First and is a long-time City resident and small business owner. “We want to make sure that every nickel of taxpayer money gets reinvested back into our community efficiently and effectively to address the priorities that make Langley City a unique community.”

Langley City First was formed as a Local Elector Organization under Elections BC to defend the things that make Langley City our home, and move our community forward. We believe in bringing independent voices to lead our community with strong community connections and responsible decision-making. We believe in a safe and prosperous Langley City, and in people who believe in our community, free of outside interference and partisan politics.

“With these values in mind, we reached out to several members of Langley City Council,” said Reddekopp, “We are proud to announce that Mayor Nathan Pachal, Councillors Paul Albrecht, Mike Solyom, and Rosemary Wallace are willing to be endorsed by our organization.”

As a registered Elector Organization, we hope to provide a united team in this fall's civic elections that is committed to defending and advancing the following values:

• Building A City for the Future
• Enhancing Green Space
• Investing in Safety and Livability
• Fostering Community Connection
• Creating a Resilient Community with Appropriate Infrastructure and Responsible Fiscal Stewardship
• Supporting a Team Where Independent Voices Work as a Cohesive Team

Langley City First believes in our community, its people, its businesses, and its potential, and we are committed to moving the city forward through collaborative leadership, safe communities, and responsible growth for today and future generations. We are excited to endorse our first candidates and look forward to announcing more in the coming months.

I wanted to reshare this post from Langley City First. To learn more about the team and its values, please check out the Langley City First website.