Council drama aside, Doug McCallum's reputation rests on outcome of 2 big campaign promises

Eight months ago, CBC News published a story with the headline "What kind of salesman is Surrey mayor-elect Doug McCallum? We're about to find out."

Friday might be one of those days where we really find out. 

The agenda for the TransLink Mayors' Council is expected to be released in the morning or early afternoon. On it will likely be long-expected details about the SkyTrain extension in Surrey.

And it could include details as to whether TransLink will propose it be done in the way McCallum has promised: in one stage, all the way to Langley, with no additional money required from the provincial and federal governments.      

While Surrey has been attracting attention recently for its fractious council, what really matters is whether McCallum's campaign promises will actually come true. 

Coming the day after the departure of another councillor from his Safe City Coalition, Friday's Translink update could either give evidence that McCallum's tactics are working or put an exclamation mark on a troubling week for his agenda. 

From 7 to 4...

In his winning campaign, McCallum made two big, bold promises: the creation of an independent police force and the construction of a SkyTrain extension to Langley built all at once, instead of the incremental steps of light-rapid transit to Guildford and Newton. 

Nine months after the election, both still require the approval of senior levels of government: the province has to sign off on the transition report issued by the city last month, and the Metro Vancouver Mayors' Council must vote in favour of the budget and timeline.

In the interim, three of the seven councillors elected with McCallum on the Safe Surrey Coalition slate have left the team, all accusing the mayor of a lack of transparency. 

"It's been very difficult to get him to hear other elected councillors," said Jack Hundial, a 25-year veteran of the RCMP who also said McCallum stopped listening to his advice on policing issues shortly after becoming mayor. 

"And certainly it's not just my experience ... we're just wrapping up our first [year] in office, and you started with seven councillors in one coalition and you're down to four." 

... but the math still works

But the four councillors still with McCallum's coalition means he has a reliable five votes to carry out his agenda. 

And while the mayor didn't agree to an interview Thursday, two of his council supporters did — and made clear they have no plans of bolting the coalition.

"It's solid. It's strongly united and now we're more focused and energized than we ever have been, because we don't have the anchors holding us back anymore," said Coun. Allison Patton.  

"I think now we're going to be more focused than ever and more able to deliver on the promises that we stood for on that campaign," said Coun. Laurie Guerra.

Both councillors were asked what promises, aside from those about the RCMP and SkyTrain, they would like voters to know about, and both had curiously similar responses. 

"Were you able to attend the state of the city address with the mayor? I took a screenshot of the presentation with our election promises ... and I think 80 per cent of them have either been completed or are in the works," said Patton. 

"When the mayor gave his state of the city address, he had a visual up on the screen that said we have done almost 80 per cent of the things we campaigned on doing," said Guerra. 

Call it coincidence or a commitment to consistent messaging: the lack of discussion beyond those two big promises makes delivering a verdict on the coalition's accomplishments fairly straightforward. 

Which means that for all the drama over departing councillors, the real question is whether senior levels of government will approve the things on which the coalition has staked its political capital.