Issues of crime and affordability are expected to be top of mind as Surrey’s mayor delivers her State of the City address Thursday.
But to sell voters on her plan, Brenda Locke may have her work cut out for her.
Surrey is facing a wave of extortion crimes, including gun violence, causing fear throughout the city.
As of Monday, the Surrey Police Service says 98 extortion crimes have been reported in Surrey in 2026, affecting 51 victims, including 16 shots fired and two arsons.
Hamish Telford, associate professor of political science at the University of the Fraser Valley, says people look to politicians for reassurances about what’s being done to make their communities safe.
“People want, first of all, to know that their concerns are being heard sincerely and that sincere efforts are being made to tackle this issue,” said Telford.
“I think there’s a feeling in the community that the police forces were slow to act, especially on the extortion issue.”
Telford says crime as a topic comes out just ahead of other major concerns south of the Fraser River, such as affordability and population growth.
He adds that the distraction of the city’s police transition has added to the concern as to whether police are doing enough to track down those responsible for extortion.
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Along with police transparency, Telford says voters may be asking broad questions about leadership.
“‘Am I better off than I was four years ago, and are things going in the right direction?’ I think that that’s what the mayor wants to try and convey in her speech: that Surrey is making progress on these big issues.”
Telford says people want action after Locke has spent much of the past four years fighting with other levels of government.
“People want to see their leaders fighting for their jurisdiction, but not in a way that is uncooperative or unproductive,” he said.
“Sometimes people in lower levels of government feel that they have to stamp their feet pretty hard to get noticed by higher levels of government and get them to pay attention and especially to act.”
Locke is expected to speak at 12:30 p.m.
As part of the provincewide general local elections, the Surrey municipal election will take place on Oct. 17.