The preliminary report of the British Columbia Electoral Boundaries Commission (see last week's VOICE for details) has caused different dilemmas for different MLAs - and they are perhaps best reflected in the cases of three Surrey MLAs:

Dave Hayer (Liberal), MLA for Surrey-Tynehead, Jagrup Brar (NDP), MLA for Surrey-Panorama, and Harry Bains (NDP), MLA for Surrey-Newton.



DAVE HAYER



Dave is right now sitting on the fence - quite literally! The commission has proposed that his riding of Surrey-Tynehead be split into two: Surrey-Fleetwood and Surrey-Guildford. Hayer told me that he lives right on the boundary of the two ridings - at 92 Avenue and 164 Street.

Hmm. So which way will he go?

Dave says: "When I look at the poll numbers in the last election, I basically won on both sides. If I work hard and if my constituents want me elected, I'll be re-elected. I haven't made up my mind which riding I will run in because this is a preliminary report. I will wait and see if the final is the same, then I'll decide."

Tough?

Dave says: "Yes, it's tough, because I am getting calls from my constituents from both sides saying 'please stay with our riding.' And I told them I will consult with my constituents and make a decision after the final boundaries are done."

I joke with him, suggesting: "Hey, why not do what Gurmant Grewal did - put your wife in the adjoining riding?"

Dave responds: "No, no, I am happy to run myself; I think one is more than enough in the family."

But still, was he surprised at the bifurcation of his riding?

Dave says: "I was surprised to see how the distribution was done, but on the other hand, this is the time for all the constituents to come in and provide their input whether or not they are happy with the boundaries. And whatever my constituents wishes are, I will respect that, and I have done that for the last six years and I will keep on doing that as long as they have confidence in me and … are looking forward to my services."

But I persist, doesn't he have any objections at all?

Dave says: "I am just surprised that they have eliminated the name Surrey-Tynehead even though Tynehead Park is still in the Guildford riding. It's a historical name that is over 100 years old. The 100-year anniversary for Surrey Tynehead Hall is being held from September 15 to 17. Somehow the commission didn't seem to have any idea about it when they called it Surrey-Guildford because that is a very broad riding from 144th to 196th streets. Tynehead Hall is right in the center of it. Tynehead Regional Park - which is just a little smaller than Stanley Park - is right in the middle of it. I told some of my constituents who had concerns about this to let the electoral commission know and I am sure they will look at it before the final report which will be due February 15."

JAGRUP BRAR



Jagrup has just the opposite dilemma: his riding has increased dramatically in area - and the former star of the Indian national basketball team says he will have to buy two extra pairs of shoes to go door to door. He will put his athletic experience into good use - and (good news for his wife!) keep in good shape.

Jagrup starts by talking up Surrey. He points out: "Overall, if you look at the bigger picture, it is good for the people of Surrey that we got an extra seat. The more the MLAs, the stronger you are in the legislature."

Then he zeroes in on his own riding of Surrey-Panorama: "When it comes to changes in my riding, quite a significant part of my riding has been proposed to move to Surrey-Newton, and on the other side, a big chunk of Surrey-Cloverdale as well as Surrey-White Rock has been proposed to be moved to my riding.

"What it basically means is that when we talk about the election scenario, it will certainly be a more competitive riding and I probably need to buy a couple of pairs of more shoes.

"At the same time, I must say that this is just a preliminary report. There will be a public hearing and a lot of people will be going before the commission and making submissions."

Any other negatives or pluses?

Jagrup says: "My first priority is not about me being an MLA. The first priority is to serve the community. They should benefit from this process, which obviously I think they have.

"When it comes to Surrey-Panorama, when it comes to the two parties, it will be more competitive as compared to the current boundaries - which means more hard work and that's why I need to buy more shoes. It has become bigger and it has become more competitive."

Then Jagrup points out some very interesting facts about his political career: "When I ran in the by-election in 2004, at that time many political pundits and a significant majority of people were predicting that I will not win, but not only did we win but we won with a reasonably good margin, although the whole government was there.

"But then in the provincial election, people came back to me and said to me 'oh, the by-election was different beacuse people were angry at that time at the government, but this time it will be hard for you because this riding is actually a Liberal riding.' So I heard that again at that time, but when at the end of the day we saw the outcome, we won with a bigger margin - the margin was over 3,000 at that time.

"So having said that, I would say at this point in time it would be premature to speculate on anything because this is a preliminary report, but I must say this riding is certainly more competitive … And if the proposed boundaries remain the same in the final report, then of course, I need to spend much more energy and have to run more."



HARRY BAINS



Harry's riding of Surrey-Newton, too, has been adjusted, but area-wise it has shrunk.

When I point that out to him, Harry responds: "But looking at the voters, I still am the largest constituency. It gives me about 53,000 people, whereas in the other Surrey ones they are all around 50-52,000. So I think population-wise they are all fairly the same."

So is he comfy?

Harry replies: "Overall, I personally think there is a very good support in all of that area that is being changed around for me. But what I think is that it's more to do with what is best for the public and how the public can be served better.

"But it's a preliminary report and there will be some hearings, and if there are some people who would be happy or unhappy or they want the commission to consider some things they may have ignored or they never looked at before, there will be an opportunity for the constituents and the MLAs to go to the commission and make their case."

So does he have any objections to the proposed changes?

Harry says: "Personally, I don't have any objections. Riding? Well, I was really close to my constituents and I don't want to lose any part of my constituency, because I worked with them. I've been door-knocking in that area that is proposed to be removed and I held some area meetings with them. So I feel that a part of me is being taken away, but as I said, if this is to better serve the constituents, I am for it."