In the aftermath of a province-wide public school strike and a financial fiasco in School District 43, Tri-City school trustee jobs are a hot ticket.
The race is definitely on for school trustee in SD43, especially in Coquitlam, where 11 candidates, including three incumbents, are running for four seats compared to five who ran for four spots in the last civic election in 2011.
A combination of opportunism - only three incumbents are running this year in Coquitlam compared to four in 2011 with the retirement of Brian Robinson - and hot-button issues such as fiscal responsibility with $13.4 million in cuts in the spring and the recent teachers' strike may also explain the crowded race.
One of the challengers is Barb Hobson, a former school trustee and board chair who wants to get back on the board while the others are relative newcomers Rob Bottos, Carol Cahoon, Chuck Denison, Zongshuo Luo, Shari O'Neill, Larry Ryan, Jodie Wickens. They're all up against incumbents Gail Alty, Diane Sowden and Gerri Wallis.
In Port Coquitlam, four candidates are running for two school board spots, compared to three who ran in 2011. John Keryluk didn't put his name forward this year but incumbent Judy Shirra, who has served on and off since the mid-1990s and for the two terms since 2008, has put her hat in the ring for another term. The other candidates are Michael Thomas, Chris King and Liam Coughlan.
Meanwhile, the race in Port Moody has also heated up, with six candidates running for two school board posts compared to two who ran in 2011 and were acclaimed. This year, Melissa Hyndes, the current board chair, and five-term trustee Keith Watkins are both running for re-election against challengers Jeanette Jackson, Charlie Loo, Lisa Park, and Alexander Swistak.
In Anmore and Belcarra, which are jointly represented by a single trustee, three people are running to unseat four-term trustee Holly Butterfield, who is running again. They are: Celia Chiang, a PoMo business owner; Kerri Palmer Isaak, a current Anmore village councillor; and Gwen Chute who was previously on school board. In 2011 Butterfield was unchallenged for the Anmore/Belcarra seat on the SD43 board of education.
In all, 25 people are running for nine spots on the SD43 board of education year compared to 11 candidates who put their names forward in 2011.
