Langley Strong has announced two more candidates who will run for Township council seats under the group’s banner this October.
Lauren Chalus and Teresa Townsley will run alongside the four sitting Township councillors who have joined the slate – Councillors Margaret Kunst, Barb Martens, Kim Richter, and Blair Whitmarsh – plus their mayoral candidate, Jay Lundgren.
Chalus works at BC Hydro as a project engagement and relationship lead, and previously worked on the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project. She sits on the Township’s heritage advisory committee.
“Residents deserve a council that listens before it acts, makes decisions that reflect the priorities of the people who live here, and protects the character of our community even as we plan for the future,” Chalus said in a statement announcing her candidacy.
Townsley opened Festina Lente Estate Winery in South Langley in 2016, and is a founding member and former co-chair of the Langley Farmers Institute, served as vice-chair of Tourism Langley, and formerly sat on the Township’s agricultural advisory and economic enhancement committee.
She also ran for Township council as an independent in 2022, but was not elected.
“I’ve spent my career stewarding growth in the face of tough economic challenges both with public dollars and in the private sector,” Townsley said in her announcement. “Langley deserves a council that plans for the future, not for the next election.”
The election is expected to see a showdown between Mayor Eric Woodward and his Progress For Langley (formerly Contract With Langley) slate and the new Langley Strong slate, which was established earlier this year.
With all the independent Township councillors joining Langley Strong, the current council is now divided five to four, with Progress holding the remaining five seats.
Lundgren recently told the Langley Advance Times that Langley Strong plans to run candidates for all eight council seats as well as for the Langley Board of Education. More candidate announcements are expected in the near future.
