Sworn in: what Langley's two new councils and the school board did in their first week

Three oaths in two nights, and the 2026–2030 term is under way. None of the three inaugurals was long on business, but each one settled a couple of things residents will bump into over the next four years, and one council was back in the chamber within 48 hours with a long agenda. Here is what changed, body by body.

City of Langley: a deputy mayor every two months

The ceremony was Monday at 7 pm in the chamber on Douglas Crescent, with Judge M. Fortino administering the oath to Mayor Delaney Mack and councillors Andrew Flitton, Michael Hylands, Scott Thompson, Rick Orlando, Simi Rajput and Heather Jenkins. The Langley Advance Times reported an overflow crowd and a mayor’s address built around getting ready for SkyTrain, a line-by-line look at the operating budget, public safety and the pool question that came out of October’s opinion vote.

The housekeeping on the agenda matters more than it sounds. The City doesn’t have a standing deputy mayor; the job rotates, two months at a time, and the schedule council adopted runs Rajput (now to December 31), Thompson (January–February), Orlando (March–April), Hylands (May–June), Flitton (July–August) and Jenkins (September–October 2027). Council also sent Mayor Mack to the Metro Vancouver board with Rajput as alternate, and Hylands to the Fraser Valley Regional Library board for 2027 with Thompson as alternate. Our City council page has the official ways to reach them.

A special meeting followed on Tuesday evening. The first regular meeting is Monday, November 23 at 7 pm, with December 7 and 14 to follow.

Township of Langley: acting mayor for three months at a time

The Township’s inaugural was the same night, in the Fraser River Presentation Theatre on the fourth floor of the Civic Facility at 20338 65 Avenue. Judge James Henry swore in Mayor Jay Lundgren and councillors Lauren Chalus, Steve Ferguson, Margaret Kunst, Barb Martens, Michael Pratt, Kim Richter, Teresa Townsley and Blair Whitmarsh. The Advance Times noted that Councillor Ferguson began his tenth term as the longest-serving councillor the Township has had.

The one decision was the acting mayor rotation, which the Township does in three-month blocks for the whole term: Kunst until January 31, then Martens, Whitmarsh, Richter, Townsley, Chalus, Pratt and Ferguson in turn through October 2028, after which the same order repeats to the end of the term.

Then, on Wednesday morning, council met again. At an 11 am special meeting it ordered an independent forensic audit of the Township’s finances, borrowing, capital projects, land transactions and contracts going back to November 2022, including the Township of Langley Housing Trust, to be paid for first out of the Mayor’s Contingency Fund. The same motion sets up a standing Audit Committee of council that is to meet at least monthly and asks staff for a report on every capital project within 45 days. A second motion asks the Clerk to report within 60 days on every change to the Township’s procedural and governance bylaws since December 2022, ahead of a review of the Procedure Bylaw. The Township’s news release has the full text of what was ordered; the minutes, with how each councillor voted, will show up on the Township’s meeting calendar, which was offline for a provider outage when we checked. Regular Township meetings are normally Mondays at 1:30 pm; see how to attend.

Board of Education: a new chair

The seven trustees took their oath on Tuesday evening at the School Board Office on 222 Street, again from Judge Henry, after a student from R.E. Mountain Secondary sang O Canada. The board then elected its officers for the year: Charlie Fox was acclaimed chair and Candy Ashdown, who had chaired the board since 2022, was acclaimed vice-chair. The district’s own summary of the meeting doesn’t list committee assignments yet; the standing committees (audit, policy, finance and facilities, education and strategic planning, communications) are usually filled in the weeks after.

The board is Fox, Ashdown, Kathie Dalziel, Holly Dickinson and Neil Turner, elected by Township voters, and Celene Hoag and Tony Ward, elected by City voters. The next regular meeting is Tuesday, November 17 at 7 pm, then December 15, and the public can attend in person or watch online through the board meetings page. Our Board of Education page explains what trustees actually decide.

If you’re wondering why there was a two-week gap between election night and any of this, after the election: oath of office and the first council meetings walks through the Community Charter’s timetable.