The plot thickens!

We recently reported on the Township of Langley’s Council awarding of two sole-source contracts worth $11.5 million for fire department equipment—in contravention of normal procedure, common-sense transparency, and value-for-money best practices.

Disgusted by the revelations, a reader sent us material demonstrating that the sales representative for the purchase is a key political ally of Mayor Eric Woodward and his Contract with Langley slate.

At the March 2024 meeting where the larger $10.8 million dollar contract was approved, Fire Chief Jason de Roy, after evasive responses to questions by Councillor Kim Richter about the bidding process and the size of the sales commission, was able to at least identify the sales representative for the supplier, Commercial Emergency Equipment Co., as a Mr. Mike Thomson.

Chief de Roy also confirmed this to be the same Mike Thomson who serves as President of LUSA, the Langley United Soccer Association.

This was valuable information, since while Mike Thomson was identified as the point person on the form (pdf p. 201) submitted to purportedly justify the previous sole-source $661k contract with Commercial Emergency Equipment Co, no such form appeared in the available documentation for the $10.8 million contract—despite being required by city policy (pdf p. 202).

The LUSA connection will be meaningful to those who followed the 2022 municipal election: one of the most expensive campaign promises of Woodward and the Contract with Langley slate was that they would build a new Youth Soccer Campus on Township land in Willoughby for the use of LUSA, whose new facilities would include a covered astroturf field plus three others.

Contact with Langley received help from LUSA during the campaign, including:

• A slick endorsement video featuring LUSA President Mike Thomson and Executive Director Marcel Horn.
• An email sent to the LUSA’s large mailing list singing the praises of Eric Woodward and crowing about the “LUSA Youth Soccer Campus”.

Since November 2022, site preparation, plans, and funding approvals have proceeded apace for the soccer campus estimated to cost the Township $154.7 million—that is, if they don’t include an underground parking lot, which council voted to explore adding in the February 26 meeting where they voted to approve Phase 1 (with LUSA adulation).

While the voters of Langley Township did elect Mayor Woodward and the Contract with Langley slate to deliver on their promises—what they didn’t want was a Council that would abuse their majority, vote as a block to rubber-stamp deals that benefit the Mayor’s friends, and violate their duties to the taxpayers.

It’s possible that Commercial Emergency Equipment Co. is the best supplier for the equipment needs of the Langley Fire Department, but there’s no way to know since there was no open bidding process, nor tough questions asked by most Councillors before forking over $11.5 million.

We’re certainly not the first to point to apparent examples of “special favours for special friends” by Mayor Woodward and his slate, and one can’t help but wonder: are they really making good on a “Contract with Langley”, or is their “Contract” with someone else?