Surrey’s new mayor-elect Brenda Locke said Thursday that ousted mayor Doug McCallum will have to pay for repairs to a city-owned vehicle that he brought back with major damages after losing the election on October 15. Locke says the city vehicle was registered under McCallum’s personal insurance.  “The car repairs will be his own to deal with,” she told CityNews. “I think it was highly inappropriate, but that is exactly how he behaved during his term as mayor.” Locke says the car repairs may not be the only thing McCallum will have to pay for himself. She says she has formally asked city staff to look into ways to recoup legal fees related to the outgoing mayor’s ongoing public mischief case.

SURREY – Surrey’s new mayor-elect Brenda Locke said Thursday that ousted mayor Doug McCallum will have to pay for repairs to a city-owned vehicle that he brought back with major damages after losing the election on October 15.

On Oct. 16, outgoing councillor Jack Hundial, tweeted a photo showing McCallum’s city-issued SUV with heavy damage to its passenger-side fender. The outgoing mayor apparently returned the vehicle after losing the civic election the previous night.

Locke says the city vehicle was registered under McCallum’s personal insurance.

 “The car repairs will be his own to deal with,” she told CityNews. “I think it was highly inappropriate, but that is exactly how he behaved during his term as mayor.”

Meanwhile, Hundial has been advocating since 2020 that McCallum should pay for his own car insurance on the vehicle, after the outgoing mayor made efforts to pass the cost to the city.

 “That bullying behavior that sometimes exists with elected officials when it comes to interacting with senior staff in the city,” he told CityNews. “Stuff like this really irritates taxpayers.”

Locke says the car repairs may not be the only thing McCallum will have to pay for himself. She says she has formally asked city staff to look into ways to recoup legal fees related to the outgoing mayor’s ongoing public mischief case.

As of right now, the outgoing mayor’s defence is being funded by taxpayer money, but Hundial notes that could change.

“It ultimately comes down to, ‘Was he in the course of his duties as an elected official?’ And if that is determined to be so, then certainly the city should be paying for those legal fees. However, if it’s determined that this is outside the scope of his duties, then quite frankly, yes, Doug McCallum should be paying back the taxpayers with interest,” Hundial told CityNews.

Locke believes McCallum’s charge was not part of his role as an elected official.

“That is his offence. He did not do that as mayor, he did that as an individual, and he has to pay those fees,” she said.

In December of 2021, McCallum was charged with public mischief after claiming a “Keep the RCMP in Surrey” group member ran over his foot in a Surrey grocery store parking lot in September of that year.

McCallum’s trial is scheduled to begin on Monday, Oct. 31.

Courtesy CityNews