Langley Township's new council is sworn in and addresses $800 million in debt
Mayor Jay Lundgren and eight councillors took office on November 2 and named the Township's borrowing as the first problem to solve. Lundgren has promised a forensic audit in his first 100 days.
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The Township of Langley swore in its new council on November 2, 2026. Mayor Jay Lundgren opened the new term by telling the room that the Township had borrowed close to $800 million and that the first task of the council is to address that honestly.
What happened at the inaugural meeting
The inaugural meeting of the 2026 to 2030 council took place on the evening of Monday, November 2, at Township Hall. The Township of Langley's own news page confirmed the ceremony and listed each of the nine members of the new council.
Mayor Jay Lundgren was sworn in alongside councillors Margaret Kunst, Barb Martens, Blair Whitmarsh, Kim Richter, Teresa Townsley and Lauren Chalus of Langley Strong, and councillors Michael V. Pratt and Steve Ferguson of Progress for Langley. The ceremony included a piper and an honour guard of RCMP and fire department members, the Langley Advance Times reported on November 3.
The October 17 vote returned 34,029 ballots from 107,846 eligible voters, according to the Township's official results.
The debt
Lundgren used much of his opening address to describe what he called the Township's two debts. The first is financial.
"We borrowed, started and approved close to $800 million, more than any municipality in British Columbia," Lundgren said, as reported by the Langley Advance Times. "I'm not going to stand here tonight and pretend that that debt is a surprise or that it belongs to one person. The majority of this previous council voted for it. Residents now bear it. And our job is to deal with it honestly."
During the campaign, Lundgren promised to order a forensic audit of Township finances in his first 100 days and publish the results. He also committed to publishing a public debt plan with targets, timelines and a schedule to rebuild reserves. Both commitments are tracked at the promise tracker for Langley Township.
The second debt: respect
Lundgren described the second debt as one owed to residents.
"For four years, too many people in this Township learned that the door of Township hall only opened for those who already agreed," he said, as the Langley Advance Times reported. "Residents who came to this chamber with a worry about their street went home feeling they had been ignored. Community groups that had served Langley for decades found themselves on the outside. Staff learned to keep their heads down. Neighbouring councils, the school board, the province, TransLink, too many bridges burned."
He said he would try to change that. Among the campaign promises he made on this subject: running council meetings where the public can ask questions before decisions are made, and making sure every resident who contacts the mayor's office gets an answer from a person, with a timeline.
The councillors
Margaret Kunst, returning to council, spoke about her role as an elected representative. She noted that some of her grandchildren had asked if she was the boss of the town.
"As much as I love that you think Nana is the boss of the town, the truth is, I'm not," she said, as reported by the Langley Advance Times. "You see all these people sitting beside you and behind you? They're the residents of this Township, and they're the ones we're here to serve."
Steve Ferguson marked a personal milestone at the meeting. He held up his certificate showing he is the longest-serving councillor in Township history, beginning his 10th term of office, the Langley Advance Times reported.
Other councillors also spoke to the theme of returning respect to council proceedings and getting to work, the Langley Advance Times reported, though the article did not quote each one directly.
Seven of the nine council members ran with Langley Strong: Lundgren, Kunst, Martens, Whitmarsh, Richter, Townsley and Chalus. Two ran with Progress for Langley: Pratt and Ferguson. The two elector organizations agreed on some priorities during the campaign, including addressing the debt, but they ran on separate platforms. Langley Strong's platform, published September 23, 2026, described 97 specific commitments organized into five pillars, beginning with finances and governance.
The first 100 days
Lundgren set several commitments with explicit timelines during the campaign. The forensic audit is the most specific: he said it would be ordered, completed and published within his first 100 days in office, which runs to early February 2027. He also promised to put a long-term financial plan with borrowing limits and reserve targets before council, and to create a Council Finance Committee that would meet at least quarterly.
He also promised to run the budget process in public, with committee of the whole discussions. The Township's 2027 budget cycle would typically begin in late 2026, so that commitment may be tested before the new year.
What comes next
The new council's first regular meeting is listed at the Township's council calendar at calendar.tol.ca/meetings. The promise tracker at /bc/langley-township-2026/tracker records each commitment the mayor and councillors made during the campaign and will be updated as they act on them.
Residents who want to follow the Township's finances can read the mayor's promises on debt and spending at his tracker page. The forensic audit, if ordered, must come within 100 days of the November 2 swearing-in, which puts the deadline around February 10, 2027.
Questions this story answers
When was Langley Township's new council sworn in?
The new mayor and eight councillors were sworn in at the inaugural meeting on Monday, November 2, 2026, at Township Hall. The Township of Langley's own news page confirmed the ceremony and listed each member of the new council.
What did Mayor Jay Lundgren say about the Township's debt?
At the inaugural meeting, Lundgren said the Township had borrowed, started and approved close to $800 million, which he described as more than any municipality in British Columbia. He said residents now bear that debt and that the council's job is to deal with it honestly. Those are his own words as reported by the Langley Advance Times on November 3, 2026.
What is the forensic audit Lundgren promised?
Lundgren committed during the campaign to ordering a forensic audit of Township finances in his first 100 days and publishing the results. He said at the Fort Langley all-candidates meeting on September 21 that the audit and a review of the debt would be his first priority, as reported by the Langley Advance Times. That promise is tracked at the voche.me promise tracker for Langley Township.
What other debt commitments did Lundgren make during the campaign?
Beyond the forensic audit, Lundgren promised to publish a public plan to pay down the debt with targets and timelines, to rebuild the Township's reserves, and to put the building cost and yearly operating cost of every future capital project before council before any vote. Each of those commitments is recorded in his tracker on this site.
Who are the members of the new Langley Township Council?
The new council has nine members: Mayor Jay Lundgren and councillors Margaret Kunst, Barb Martens, Blair Whitmarsh, Kim Richter, Teresa Townsley and Lauren Chalus, all of Langley Strong, and councillors Michael V. Pratt and Steve Ferguson of Progress for Langley. The Township of Langley's own news page listed the full council on November 2, 2026.
What is Councillor Steve Ferguson's connection to the Township?
At the inaugural meeting, Ferguson held up his certificate showing he is the longest-serving councillor in Township history, as reported by the Langley Advance Times. He began his 10th term of office with the November 2 swearing-in.
What did Lundgren say about how the Township treated residents under the previous council?
Lundgren said that for four years, residents who came to council with a concern about their street went home feeling ignored, community groups that had served Langley for decades found themselves excluded, staff learned to keep their heads down, and relationships with the school board, the province and TransLink had deteriorated. Those are his own words as reported by the Langley Advance Times on November 3, 2026.
How can residents follow what the new council does on these promises?
Every promise made by Mayor Lundgren and the councillors during the campaign is recorded at the voche.me promise tracker for Langley Township at /bc/langley-township-2026/tracker. The tracker shows the status of each promise, what evidence exists and what is still to come. It will be updated as the council acts.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- Township of Langley · Mayor and Council 2026-2030, November 2, 2026tol.ca
- Langley Advance Times · Langley Township council pledges return of respect, by Heather Colpitts, November 3, 2026langleyadvancetimes.com
- Aldergrove Star · Langley Township council pledges return of respect, November 3, 2026aldergrovestar.com
- Township of Langley, 2026 Election Resultstol.ca
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