2014 campaign and election
During her campaign,pollsters predicted a tight race predicting very evenly matched results. Even near the end of the campaign Hepner,Rasode,and McCallum were in a dead heat,however,results we're not even close. [9] Hepner cruised to a victory and her political slate,Surrey First,swept all eight city councillor seats. Some believe that Hepner had major advantages over her opponents including a well organized and well financed team,especially a Surrey First ground crew which mobilized quickly to get out the vote in massive numbers. [9] Hepner also secured the significant endorsement of Dianne Watts,the outgoing mayor who had previously won 80% of the vote in the 2011 election. [9]
The Central City Brew Pub became headquarters for election night,and upon this landslide victory,the gathering felt like a party until early morning hours. [9]
Mayoral term
During her time as Mayor,Hepner as stated that she will "break ground" with Surrey's LRT,starting with phase 1. She promised a rider-ready LRT by 2018 during her campaign but conceded that it won't be ready by then. [10] As a proponent of the LRT she brought to light its potential to help solve a piece of Surrey's transportation problems,defending her city's decision to build light rail rather than Skytrain. [11] She also successfully led the initiative to relocate a large homeless population from 135A Street known as the "Surrey Strip". [12] The camp was dismantled and over 100 people were moved to modular housing. [12] By implementing a voluntary,individualized approach,she effectively addressed diverse issues on a case-by-case basis. [8]
One of Hepner's most impactful achievements was guiding Surrey to be the first city in Canada to develop a Coastal Adaptation Strategy,which helped Surrey plan for future environmental challenges. [8] In 2016 the City began to develop a Coastal Flood Adaption Strategy and in November 2019,the final strategic document was approved by council. [13] Hepner did admit that this initiative would require a lot of money and extensive collaboration with other levels of government over funding,however she emphasized that "the cost of not investing will be much more disruptive", [14] as widespread flooding could affect over 1,500 residents,hundred of jobs,and over $1 billion in property value and over $25 billion in truck and rail traffic. [14]
Alongside her tenure as mayor,Hepner held positions including Vice-Chair of Metro Vancouver's Mayor's Council,Director of TransLink,and Director of Metro Vancouver. She also chaired committees including the Surrey Police Committee,the Innovation Boulevard Mental Health and Addictions Committee,and the Mayor' Task Force on Gang Reduction securing $7 million in federal funding for the task force. [8]
After her term,Hepner decided not to seek re-election and appointed Surrey First City Councillor Tom Gill to run for mayor on the Surrey First slate. [15] [16] On October 20,2018,former mayor Doug McCallum was elected to succeed her in the 2018 Surrey municipal election.
