Surrey Mayor Diane Watts is a populist, a shrewd political reader of the public mood, and a figure that appeals to a nice cross section of the political spectrum.

Watts' aspirations may lie beyond the borders of Surrey, but a kick at the BC Liberal can after Gordon Campbell would be a quick descent to an early political burial

Her steady performance on Council from 1996 until 2005 was nearly flawless.

Her timing in knocking off former Surrey mayor Doug McCallum as an independent was impeccable.

And her move to create the Surrey First slate of “non-affiliated” candidates to take control of council (she beat her opponent by an astounding 43,000 votes, and all six of her running mates won handily) was a stroke of brilliance.

Which makes all of this recent talk of Watts’ eventual run for Premier a non-starter based on her record of success. Read the rest of this entry »