Linda Hepner Explained

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.

Mayor of Surrey (2014–2018)

After 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; however, McCallum himself was defeated in the mayoral race by Dianne Watts, and Hepner joined Watts' Surrey First team.

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

On 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

Hepner'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

2014 Surrey Municipal Election

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

External links

• City of Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner Biography

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Surrey mayoral race: Linda Hepner is a proven problem solver. Kelly. Sinoski. Vancouver Sun. October 31, 2014. November 29, 2014.
2. Web site: Linda Hepner elected Surrey mayor, succeeding long-time political ally. Ian. Bailey. The Globe and Mail. November 15, 2014. November 29, 2014.
3. Web site: Surrey Mayor Linda Hepner will not seek re-election – who will be her party's nominee? CBC News . CBC . October 23, 2018.
4. Web site: Brown . Scott . Tom Gill is Surrey First's candidate for mayor . Vancouver Sun . October 23, 2018 . June 22, 2018.
5. https://www.conservativebc.ca/linda_hepner_nominated_in_surrey_serpentine_river
6. Web site: 2022-11-07 . Councillor Gordon Hepner City of Surrey . 2024-09-26 . www.surrey.ca . en.
7. Web site: 2022-11-21 . An ‘old soul’ new to the political arena, Hepner follows mother’s footsteps to Surrey City Hall . 2024-09-26 . Surrey Now-Leader . en.
8. Web site: Councillor Linda Hepner . 2024-09-26 . surreyfirst.ca.
9. Web site: 2016-05-09 . Surrey Food Bank Breakfast Fundraiser, a huge success! . 2024-09-26 . Cuisine and Company Vancouver Event Catering and Wedding Planning . en.