FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, October 13, 2026
McCallum and Locke scandals put them in Annis’s company. Starchuk says that Surrey deserves better than this chaos.
SURREY, BC — Surrey’s election campaign escalated to new heights on Tuesday evening as new information has come to light on Doug McCallum and Brenda Locke. The campaign to date has highlighted scandals from every major candidate except for Mike Starchuk.
Linda Annis’ inappropriate police texts, unlicensed dog attack (lawsuit filed against Annis), and billing taxpayers for her golf tournaments showed that she does not have the judgment to lead.
Brenda Locke’s backroom deal on the arena, police interference, and inability to answer whether she would build a new casino in Downtown Surrey showed that she lacks the honesty and integrity to continue as our Mayor; she would be bogged down by policing conflicts that would throw the police transition back into chaos, if re-elected. Tonight, the Vancouver Sun confirmed that Mayor Locke continues to dodge questions and try to run out the clock before the election. Mayor Locke has been under fire since the CKNW debate – when she blurted out her “not really” answer on whether she knew about Norm Lipinski’s firing ahead of time – and has avoided all interviews since.
Tonight, documents were released (including a lawsuit filed in March of this year), alleging fraud by Doug McCallum’s business partner Bob Cheema. The allegations come after Doug McCallum has missed significant public events including both the CBC and CKNW mayoral debates. McCallum has a history of scandals as Mayor including a mischief charge from the RCMP, an inappropriate relationship with a former councillor and current candidate, and giving insider access to his “best friend” Bob Cheema.
Tonight, it was alleged at a press conference outside of Surrey City Hall that a purchaser wrote a $1M deposit cheque that was issued to Bob Cheema for a property that he never held. Now Bob Cheema is being sued for fraud. Doug McCallum is Bob Cheema’s business partner.
Of Mike Starchuk, Linda Annis, Brenda Locke, and Doug McCallum, only Mike Starchuk is not named or implicated in an active lawsuit.
Mike Starchuk has maintained his integrity throughout the race by earning the most endorsements from a broad coalition of voters, becoming the only candidate to show up to every public event, and publishing the most comprehensive platform in Surrey history. Now, Mike Starchuk is appealing to voters who used to trust Brenda, Doug, and Linda to turn a new leaf by voting for Mike Starchuk and Imagine Surrey, the only viable team that can bring change to City Hall and restore integrity in local government.
“Unfortunately, none of these three candidates has been honest or forthright with the voters of Surrey,” said Starchuk, “politicians need to be held to a higher standard. Let’s set that standard on October 17th by voting for Imagine Surrey.”
Surrey can put out the fire started by Surrey First, Surrey Connect, and Safe Surrey Coalition by replacing them all with Mike Starchuk and Imagine Surrey on October 17th. Advance polls are open on October 14th and 15th.
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About Imagine Surrey
Imagine Surrey is a civic party running a full slate of candidates in the October 17, 2026 municipal election. Led by mayoral candidate Mike Starchuk – a former firefighter and Chief Fire Prevention Officer, former City Councillor, and former MLA for Surrey-Cloverdale – Imagine Surrey is committed to making Surrey the City of Champions by delivering: safe streets, fast commutes, smart investments, lower costs, and strong services.
Council candidates: Yousef Aldabainah-Barakat, Chandan Chahal, Perminder Chohan, Narima Dela Cruz, Ashiyana Hanif, William Li, Dr. Margaret Mubanda, and Kevin Wilkie.
Contact
Trevor Loke, Campaign Manager
604-838-5178
[email protected] / [email protected]