Next Meeting: December 14th, 2010
H.R. MacMillian Planetarium and Space Centre, Lower Level
Speaker: Dianne Watts
Topic: Surrey – Growth through major economic investment strategies and community initiatives
Read the minutes from this meeting here
Dianne Watts was first elected as Mayor of Surrey in 2005 after serving nine years on City Council. She was re-elected for her second term in 2008.
As Mayor of B.C.’s fastest growing city, her brand of civic leadership includes forming partnerships with other levels of government and the private sector in order to build healthy, vibrant communities. She believes in bringing people together and engaging the community in order to move Surrey forward.
The Mayor’s policy initiatives have played a major role in attracting investment and creating jobs. For two years, Surrey has been named the best place in B.C. to invest, and this year it was ranked 4th on the list of top Cana-dian investment cities.
Earlier this year, she unveiled Phase 2 of Surrey’s Economic Investment Action Plan, which is designed to foster strong economic growth through capital investment and strategic partnerships, and support the expansion of clean technology industries. The plan includes the Build Surrey program, the most comprehensive capital works program in the City’s history.
Mayor Watts has developed other key initiatives since taking office, including the Surrey Crime Reduction Strategy; the Homelessness and Housing Foundation, which aggressively seeks new approaches to solving homelessness; and the Sustainability Charter, an overarching policy document that is guiding the City’s approach to social, cultural, environmental, and economic sustainability.
In 2009, the Mayor was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Rotary Foundation of Rotary International.
Mayor Watts’ family has owned and operated a manufacturing plant in Surrey for over 30 years. She and her husband Brian live in Cloverdale and are the proud parents of two daughters.