Monday - Sept. 23, 2024 - Meet Harrison's new mayor and councillor

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Good morning!

Being in a two-person newsroom can be tough. Balancing story coverage, vacation time, and admin duties is a lot when you’re sharing with only two people. But—and I say this from experience—it’s a heck of a lot easier than working in a one-person newsroom.

That’s why my thoughts go out to Adam Louis, editor of the Agassiz Harrison Observer. He took over the position from me when I left for FVC, and since then has been in the trenches of Harrison’s political drama. And this Saturday, he just worked his third straight weekend—because that’s just how it goes when you are on your own.

To all of our members: thank you, thank you, thank you for ensuring that we have enough funds to support two journalists here at The Current. (If you want us to be able to hire more reporters, maybe consider becoming an Insider too!)

And if you read any of the Observer’s Harrison by-election coverage this weekend, maybe shoot Adam a friendly note. As I remember from my time at the Observer, it can get pretty bleak in the trenches.

– Grace

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Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope (We have had to temporarily change our forecast links to the Weather Network due to a technical error.)

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NEWS

Countdown to the 2024 BC election

The countdown is on to the 2024 provincial election.

On Saturday, Sept. 21, the writ officially dropped, marking the start of BC’s campaign period. There are 30 candidates running in the Fraser Valley for nine seats. Most of these candidates are representing either the BC NDP or the BC Conservatives, although there are a few independent and BC Green candidates.

A few key dates to remember:

• Advance Voting: Thursday, Oct. 10 to Sunday, Oct. 13, Tuesday Oct. 15 to Wednesday, Oct. 16

• Election Day: Saturday, Oct. 19, 8am to 8pm

We’ve collected all the information you’ll need to go into the election an informed voter. In our general Fraser Valley election hub, you’ll find details on when to vote, how to pre-register, what ID to bring to the polling station, which parties are campaigning, and more.

In our local election hubs for Langley, Abbotsford and Mission, and Chilliwack and the Eastern Fraser Valley, you’ll find information on your candidates, upcoming all-candidates meeting, where your polling stations are, and more.

• You can find our general Fraser Valley election hub here.

• You can find our hubs for each riding below. (Don’t know which riding you are in? Elections BC can help you figure it out here.)

Related

Need to Know

📽 A Langley film studio is suing the Township over municipal fees that could reach $39 million [Langley Advance Times]

📣 People living in a encampment outside Abbotsford city hall have been given an eviction notice, but the protesters say they aren’t leaving [Abbotsford News]

⚖ An Abbotsford man is awaiting sentencing after shooting a woman and killing a family dog in Maple Ridge two years ago [Maple Ridge News] / The injured woman spoke about the trauma of that night in court [Abbotsford News]

🚔 A man was shot and killed in a suspected gang-related hit in Langley; a second person was hurt [CTV]

👏 A Chilliwack man walking through the Yukon and British Columbia has gotten to 100 Mile House [Chilliwack Progress]

🥌 The provincial curling championships will be held in Langley this January [Langley Advance Times]

🚧 Construction has finally concluded on a key Prest Road project in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

🐞 An invasive and destructive beetle was found in Abbotsford earlier this year [Abbotsford News]

👉 A former Chilliwack Times reporter (and colleague of Tyler’s) has a new podcast in which he reconnects with people he wrote about a decade ago [Abbotsford News]

The Agenda

Talen, Schweinbenz dominate Harrison by-election

Fred Talen has been elected Harrison Hot Springs’ new mayor as voters appeared to lay the blame for two years of council chaos at the feet of Ed Wood and John Allen.

Saturday’s by-election was triggered by the resignation of Mayor Ed Wood, who had accused his opponents of forming a “coup.” Wood’s ally, John Allen, resigned his seat to seek the mayor’s gig. Wood, then, submitted papers to run for Allen’s vacated position.

The gambit couldn’t have gone worse for the two, as they were pummelled at the polls, each coming last in their respective races. Only 20% of voters cast a ballot for Allen, while Wood did even worse, with only 11% choosing to return him to the council table.

Talen won with 58% of the votes according to the preliminary results, beating out Allen and retired Mountie Greg Dykstra. Talen moved to Harrison in 2021, after he retired from his position as an aboriginal rights negotiator with the Northwest Territories government. He said in a Facebook statement during his campaign that he would “work towards creating a consensus” on council—something that had been lacking in the chambers during the past two years.

Mark Schweinbenz, meanwhile, was elected in place of Allen. Schweinbenz is a local chocolatier and claimed 59% of the vote. In addition to Wood, he defeated Teresa Omelus, a retired nurse who ran in the last by-election for councillor and Gary Webster, a blockwatch leader. Schweinbenz is a business owner in Harrison and a member of Harrison’s Environmental Advisory Committee.

Allen and Wood exit may put an end to two years of near-constant acrimony at Harrison’s council table. (You can catch up on Harrison’s past council drama here.)

The conflict led to a massive turnout in the by-election.

With more than than 900 residents casting ballots, the turnout was higher than both the last by-election in 2023, and the full municipal election in 2022.

Talen and Schweinbenz will join existing councillors Leo Facio, Michie Vidal, and Allan Jackson at the council table. The official results won’t be announced until Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 9am in the council chambers, although with such a large margin between the winners and the losers, there is unlikely to be any changes to the outcome.

The inaugural meeting for the new council will take place on Monday, Oct. 7 at 7pm in Memorial Hall.

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🤝 Now hiring

• Carpenter at Paul Davis Restoration in Langley

• Social worker at Fraser Valley Aboriginal Children and Family Services Society in Mission

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Classifieds

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Annual FVC members can find a link to submit their annual classified in the weekly FVC Insiders Edition. Become a FVC member here.

🗓 Things to do

Bike meet-up: Cycle Chilliwack hosts a community engagement meeting at the Sardis Public Library on Monday, Sept. 23. Learn more about Cycle Chilliwack, the current cycling infrastructure in the city, upcoming events, the Garrison Bike Bus and how to get involved. Details online.

Book talk: Local author Gordon Taylor will be at the Mt. Lehman Library on Tuesday, Sept. 24 to talk about his biography of his father, Doug Taylor. The author talk begins at 3:30pm. Details online.

Herbal gardening: The City of Langley Library hosts Ana Dushyna as she talks about all-season herbal gardening on Tuesday, Sept. 24 at 6pm. Learn about how to make a herbal apothecary garden that is both beautiful and useful. Details online.

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