After Burnaby's gripping mayoral race in 2018, in which 16-year incumbent Mayor Derek Corrigan lost to former firefighter and union vice-president Mike Hurley, this year's election for mayor will likely be very simple: Hurley wins.
The first-term mayor is running unopposed.
"I am humbled and honoured to be acclaimed as Mayor for four more years. It takes a lot of teamwork and collaboration to get things done," Hurley wrote in a Facebook post.
If no one challenges Hurley's run by Sept. 19, he'll be acclaimed and sworn in for a new term on Nov. 2 with the other elected officials, according to Burnaby's chief election officer, Lynne Axford.
Hurley supported by Burnaby civic parties
Hurley, an independent, has the support of all three of the city's political parties.
The Burnaby Citizens Association, Burnaby's long-standing NDP-affiliated party, which currently holds four of eight council seats, announced on Thursday (Sept. 8) the party would not run a mayoral candidate this year.
The BCA's mayoral candidate in 2018 was incumbent Corrigan on his fifth term in office.
The Burnaby Green Party endorsed Hurley when it announced its slate of candidates in June.
New civic party on the block, One Burnaby, also came out of the gate supporting Hurley.
Two longtime BCA councillors, who left the party in 2020 in part because of political differences with the mayor, Dan Johnston and Colleen Jordan, announced they will not run for re-election this year, leaving two seats up for grabs around the council table.
Poll showed support for Hurley
A poll from Research Co. in December 2021 had Hurley's approval rating at 51 per cent.
The poll also found almost half of Burnaby residents (48 per cent) were willing to re-elect him.
In 2018, Hurley won the election with about 53 per cent of the vote, with 26,260 votes — beating out Corrigan by almost 6,000 votes.
In Port Coquitlam, Mayor Brad West has also won his second term by acclamation.
Local elections in B.C. will be held on Oct. 15 this year.
