Linda Margaret Hepner (born May 16, 1949)[1] is a Canadian politician, who served as the 36th mayor of Surrey, British Columbia as of the 2014 municipal election.[2] She currently serves as the Conservative MLA for Surrey-Serpentine River since 2024.
Linda Hepner | |
|---|---|
 Hepner in 2016 | |
| 36th Mayor of Surrey | |
| In office December 8, 2014 – November 5, 2018 | |
| Preceded by | Dianne Watts |
| Succeeded by | Doug McCallum |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Serpentine River | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Riding Established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 16, 1949 Fredericton, New Brunswick |
| Nationality | Canadian |
| Political party | Conservative (provincial) Surrey First (municipal) |
| Spouse | Alan McMillan |
| Children | 1 |
| Residence | Surrey |
| Occupation | Politician |
Mayor of Surrey (2014–2018)
editAfter joining the city staff as a manager in 1985,[1] Hepner was first elected to Surrey City Council in 2005 on Doug McCallum's Surrey Electors Team slate;[1] however, McCallum himself was defeated in the mayoral race by Dianne Watts, and Hepner joined Watts' Surrey First team.[1]
During her time as Mayor, Hepner as stated that she will "break ground" with Surrey's LRT, starting with phase 1.
Hepner decided not to seek re-election and appointed Surrey First City Councillor Tom Gill to run for mayor on the Surrey First slate.[3][4] On October 20, 2018, former mayor Doug McCallum was elected to succeed her in the 2018 Surrey municipal election.
Later political career
editOn June 20, 2024, Hepner was nominated as a Conservative Party of British Columbia candidate for the 2024 British Columbia general election, running in the Surrey-Serpentine River riding.[5]
Personal life
editHepner's only son, Gordon Hepner, is a city councillor in Surrey, and she has two grandsons through him.[6][7] Hepner is currently married to Alan McMillan, who is an administrator the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design.[8][9]
Electoral record
edit| 2024 British Columbia general election: Surrey-Serpentine River | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Linda Hepner | 9,782 | 49.7% | |||||
| New Democratic | Baltej Singh Dhillon | 9,347 | 47.5% | |||||
| Independent | James McMurtry | 554 | 2.8% | |||||
| Total valid votes | 19,683 | – | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC[10] | ||||||||
2014 Surrey Municipal Election
edit| Candidate | Party | Vote | % |
|---|---|---|---|
 Linda Hepner
|
Surrey First | 48,622 | 48.15 |
| Doug McCallum | Safe Surrey Coalition | 27,233 | 26.97 |
| Barinder Rasode | One Surrey | 21,193 | 20.99 |
| Grant Rice | Independent | 1,698 | 1.68 |
| John Edwards | Independent | 1,067 | 1.06 |
| Vikram Bajwa | Independent | 718 | 0.71 |
| John Wolanski | Independent | 451 | 0.45 |
References
edit- ^ a b c d Sinoski, Kelly (October 31, 2014). "The Surrey mayoral race: Linda Hepner is a proven problem solver". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ^ Bailey, Ian (November 15, 2014). "Linda Hepner elected Surrey mayor, succeeding long-time political ally". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 29, 2014.
- ^ "Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner will not seek re-election – who will be her party's nominee? | CBC News". CBC. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ Brown, Scott (June 22, 2018). "Tom Gill is Surrey First's candidate for mayor". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 23, 2018.
- ^ https://www.conservativebc.ca/linda_hepner_nominated_in_surrey_serpentine_river
- ^ "Councillor Gordon Hepner | City of Surrey". www.surrey.ca. November 7, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ "An 'old soul' new to the political arena, Hepner follows mother's footsteps to Surrey City Hall". Surrey Now-Leader. November 21, 2022. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ "Councillor Linda Hepner". surreyfirst.ca. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ "Surrey Food Bank Breakfast Fundraiser, a huge success!". Cuisine and Company | Vancouver Event Catering and Wedding Planning. May 9, 2016. Retrieved September 26, 2024.
- ^ https://globalnews.ca/news/10779107/bc-election-2024-results-surrey-serpentine-river/