FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, JAN. 12, 2026, SURREY B.C. — Surrey First Councillor and mayoral candidate Linda Annis is facing tough questions after reports indicate she texted Surrey Police Service Chief Const. Norm Lipinski about DUI roadblocks in her neighbuorhood, near a private country club frequented by her friends and acquaintances.
Reporting on the incident suggests enforcement in that immediate area was subsequently changed after a phone call and text messages from Annis, to the point where Chief Lipinski soon warned Surrey Police Service personnel: “this requires an elevated response.” The matter raises concerns about whether political influence played a role in crucial public-safety operations.
Complaints regarding Councillor Annis’s conduct have been directed to the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner and to B.C.’s Director of Policing. Next steps can include an initial assessment, requests for additional information and a formal investigation with public findings. Imagine Surrey is calling on the province to ensure any review is independent, timely, and fully transparent to the public, and that all private phone records and text messages involved in this breach be preserved.
“DUI enforcement should be based on public safety data and saving lives.” said Mike Starchuk, Imagine Surrey’s mayoral candidate. “No politician should be directly lobbying the police about where to catch impaired drivers, and it’s no wonder Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) received complaints from several citizens ‘very distressed that an incident like this would occur’. Even if the heavy-handed intent was only to ‘pass along complaints’, the public deserves confidence that policing decisions are made independently.”
Imagine Surrey is calling for full transparency and clear guardrails: disclose the relevant communications with appropriate redactions, publicly reaffirm operational independence, and implement a formal protocol so any political communication about operational policing is objectively logged and transparently handled. “Nobody should get special treatment.” Starchuk concluded.
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Mike Starchuk is available for interviews. For more information contact:
Media Contact
Scott Williams
Imagine Surrey & Mike for Mayor Campaign
604-356-7606
[email protected]