Click here to Hear Watts’s inaugural address

SURREY - A crowd of a few hundred came out to City Centre Library Monday night to see Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts and the rest of her Surrey First team sworn into office.

The Surrey First team swept the polls on Nov. 19, ousting long-time councillor and former mayor Bob Bose.

First-time elect Coun. Bruce Hayne effectively replaced Bose.

A bagpipe player and honoured guard led the new Surrey council to the stage in the foyer of the new library shortly after 7 p.m. on Monday.

After council was sworn in, Watts took to the stage to start her third term as mayor of Surrey and gave her inaugural address.

Watts spoke a lot about council's commitment to being more open and transparent.

"As taxpayers, you have the right to know what we're doing, what we're spending your money on, and we're committed to making sure that we are the most open and transparent government that we can absolutely, possibly be."

She said all of the council members are "independent."

"We're independent thinking, we have a free vote and that is important. And that is important as we move forward, because given the mandate that we have and the responsibility that comes with that, we will ensure that we will not disappoint."

Watts said this is an exciting time for Surrey.

"We're a city of a half a million people and we're building the second metropolitan core of the region. And as we build our downtown core and we're in this beautiful building here, it's very exciting. As we move forward in connecting our town centres, it's very important to be thoughtful and careful, yet really bold and visionary."

She said because one-third of the population is under 19, the city needs to focus on job creation.

"We want to create vibrant communities, connect communities, to ensure that our families have a great quality of life."

Watts said council is committed to keeping taxes low, creating jobs for the next generation, building safe communities and ensuring there is good transportation.

"We've seen some (transit) expansion but there's still a lot more that we need to do," she said. "We're playing catch up in the City of Surrey because we've grown so fast. But you know what, we've got the attention of the provincial government, we've got the attention of the federal government and we have seen a precedent amount of money flowing into this city and we will work to continue to make sure that that happens."

She went on to say city council is also committed to strengthening social infrastructure, creating good education opportunities and protecting green infrastructure in Surrey.

"Many of you might not know this, but we have 7,800 acres of green space, riparian areas, and we're committed to preserving that and we're committed to each and every year, adding new parkland."

Watts said council will listen to the needs and wants of the city.

"We have an incredible council here that has just been elected. But more so, we have a great community. When we look at the make up of that team, I have to say that we are very blessed," she said.

"We will succeed, there is no doubt in my mind."

areid@thenownewspaper.com