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Dec 9,2010 Langley Times

Langley City Mayor Peter Fassbender has one less job to do.

He is no longer the chair of the Mayors’ Council for TransLink, He lost the position in balloting among Lower Mainland mayors on Thursday.

Fassbender and North Vancouver District Mayor Richard Walton were both nominated, and tied on the first ballot. Walton then won the position on the second ballot.

Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, mayor of West Vancouver, is the new vice-chair.

While an appointed professional board has operational control of TransLink, major tax or revenue increases for expansion can't go ahead without the mayors' approval.

Fassbender said after the vote that he is satisfied with the legacy he left during his tenure as council chair, notably the memorandum of understanding with the provimce that commits the provincial government to look at new sources of funding for TransLink.

“There was a sentiment (among mayors) that I was in favour of raising property taxes,” he said, denying that he supported any TransLink property tax boost.

He also noted that Transportation Minister Shirley Bond had pressed the mayors to approve higher property taxes to at least pay TransLink's share of building the Evergreen Line, but Bond later agreed to take more time to consider alternatives like road pricing, a vehicle levy or a share of the carbon tax.

The funding commitment for the Evergreen Line must be in place by Dec. 31, in order to qualify for federal funding for the 11-kilometre rapid transit extension in Port Moody and Coquitlam.

While an appointed professional board has operational control of TransLink, major tax or revenue increases for expansion can't go ahead without the mayors' approval.

Fassbender said he's spent much effort improving the mayors' relationship with the provincial government, and he makes no apologies for that. He said his approach is to be more conciliatory, and he said some mayors, notable Burnaby Mayor Derek Corrigan. take issue with that.

"This is my style and I stand by it. I'd rather work with people than throwing down gauntlets to see if we can get into a fight. To me it's a much more productive way to live life."

Fassbender said the MOU and agreement by Bond to delay any property tax increase and allow for further talks are key steps forward for TransLink and the mayors' council.

"Despite all the changes provincially, the minister of transportation is still the minister of transportation. I've built a relationship with the government which will be in place for the next two years, and that's important.

"I believe we as mayors need to speak to leadership candidates in both parties to ensure that TransLink funding gets their full attention," he said.

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