delta mayor george harvie kicks four councillors out of his political party
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delta, may 4, 2021 - delta mayor george harvie discusses the investigation into the homicide of bikramdeep randhawa on may 1, 2021, in delta, bc., on may 4, 2021.
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four city of delta councillors were removed from mayor george harvie’s political party on wednesday.
councillors daniel boisvert, jennifer johal, rodney binder and dylan kruger each received an early morning email from the achieving for delta party saying they were no longer welcome.
the letter, written by the party’s principal officer, donald sangster, states “this letter is to serve notice to you that achieving for delta organizations will not be endorsing you to run as achieving for delta candidates in the upcoming delta civic election.
“further that you cease in any representations as being associated with our organization, in the present or the future, for the purposes of fundraising, campaigning or general personal promotion, as of the date of receipt of this motion.”
a copy of a letter sent to four delta councillors removing them from the achieving for delta party
submitted
the next municipal election is set for oct. 17, 2026.
coun. kruger said the email was disappointing.
“this unilateral decision is aimed at silencing voices that have raised concerns about the mayor’s pattern of reckless spending and increasingly erratic decision-making,” said kruger, speaking on behalf of the group.
“delta residents deserve a council that collaborates effectively. our goal has always been to work together, engage in open debates, and respect differing opinions. unfortunately, the mayor seems more focused on exerting control.
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“in 2024, the majority of council voted to remove george harvie as chair of metro vancouver. prior to his removal, harvie spent over $47,000 on taxpayer-funded first-class trips to cities around the world.”
delta mayor george v. harvie (l) and delta city councillor dylan kruger (r) at a city council meeting on may 6, 2024. the councillors stripped harvie of his position on metro vancouver’s board during the meeting.
city of delta
all seven members of delta council elected in 2022 belonged to harvie’s party. however, in may 2024, the four ousted councillors voted to remove harvie as chair of metro vancouver.
harvie has been mayor since 2018, when he took the reins from longtime mayor lois jackson. this was when harvie formed his party, with jackson agreeing to run under his banner as a councillor. jackson served for one term.
prior to 2018, harvie was delta’s chief administrative officer and before that worked for the city of burnaby for 30 years.
on wednesday, harvie said the group of four “did their best to isolate and sideline me and get me removed from metro vancouver.”
he noted that all four councillors now have paid appointments on metro vancouver boards, and that they should not be surprised they were removed from his party.
harvie said he was preparing to run again as mayor in 2026, and was assembling a group to run alongside him as councillors.
kruger said it was too early to say whether he, or the other ousted councillors, would run again.
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“moving forward, we will continue to put delta residents first, hold the mayor to account, and push for greater transparency and accountability at city hall,” he said.
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