Surrey city council’s Monday night meeting ended as quick as it started. The whole night took a nose dive only 7 minutes in as Doug McCallum got hackled by the audience in chambers then he called for a recess.
It was announced after an hour the meeting is adjourned to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 1.
“Councillors were calling for the mayor to resign over his criminal charges, the mayor was having none of it, and the public audience’s contempt for Doug McCallum just boiled over,” Coun. Linda Annis said, summing up the scene
After the adjournment, Annis issued a statement taking aim at the mayor.
She said the meeting was adjourned as McCallum’s rivals were calling for him to resign “over his criminal charges.”
“City council meetings under Doug McCallum have been bad for many months, but this is the worse I have seen it,” Annis said.
“There’s plenty of blame to go around on a night like this, but if Surrey residents were watching this tonight they would be shaking their heads and wondering how our city can run now until election day on October 15. It was an embarrassing night for our city and its taxpayers.”
More recently, he and his council supporters have been chastised for delaying the city’s ethics commissioner’s investigation into any charges until after the election.
After accusing a woman of running over his foot during an altercation, McCallum was charged with one count of mischief in December. The mayor’s claim appears to be refuted by statements in court documents.
