Tuesday August 1, 2023 | LANGFORD, BC [Updated August 2, 2023]
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends | See BY-ELECTION NEWS UPDATES
CLICK HERE for the >> JULY 25, 2023 AGENDA and MEETING LINK
August 1, 2023 – SD62 fully announces the by-election
At their July 25, 2023 board meeting, the Sooke School District 62 (SD62) Board of Education established the timeline for a trustee by-election in their Belmont Zone — for voters in Langford, Colwood, Highlands and Metchosin on the west shore side of Greater Victoria, BC.
Based on the agenda for the July 25 SD62 special board meeting, this news was first written up by Island Social Trends in an article published July 21.
The official by-election call was dependent on the full official resignation of now former SD62 trustee Ravi Parmar, who was elected as MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca on June 24; Parmar won the June 24, 2023 Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election with over 50% of the voter turnout.
Parmar waited a month to resign, which he finally did on July 27. Parmar was sworn in as MLA for Langford-Juan de Fuca on July 28.
Seat can’t be left vacant:
The SD62 by-election is called to fill the now-vacant trustee seat. School district boards can only go without a full slate of trustees for a six-month period immediately preceding a full election; the next full election for municipalities and school boards in BC is not until October 2026.
Parmar was re-elected in the Belmont Zone of SD62 during the Fall 2022 election cycle (after several previous terms on the board), knowing full well he would be resigning in order to run as the chosen BC NDP candidate in Langford-Juan de Fuca.
Cost to run the by-election:
Island Social Trends has learned from SD62 that the cost to run the October 14, 2023 by-election will come out of either an amended 2023-2024 budget and/or reserves. The cost was not pre-budgeted (even given the political pre-knowledge of Parmar intending to resign in 2023).
“As we are in the early stages of the process, costs are still to be determined,” said an SD62 administration representative. More information may be available after September 15, says SD62.
Chief Election Officer:
The Board has appointed Joan Axford as the Chief Election Officer, 250-415-2540, e-mail jaxford@sd62.bc.ca.
SD62 by-election time period:
The agenda for the July 25, 2023 board meeting shows that a by-election election period would start right away on July 28, with nominations opening August 29, the campaign period technically starting September 16, advance voting on October 4 and 5, and the general voting day on October 14.
SD62 board going forward:
The current SD62 board was elected on October 15, 2022 and sworn in on November 1, 2023. Five of the trustees were new to the SD62 board table (only Ravi Parmar and Allison Watson had been previously elected as SD62 trustees, and Ebony Logins had previously served as a municipal councilor with the District of Sooke).
Parmar stepped back from being a trustee this spring, so he could focus on running for MLA as the BC NDP candidate in Langford-Juan de Fuca. Interim SD62 Board Chair has been Amanda Dowhy for the past few months. Dowhy attended Parmar’s swearing-in at the BC Legislature last week, as did SD62 Superintendent Scott Stinson.
Current trustees:
The current profile of SD62 trustees is:
- Belmont Zone -4 trustees (Langford, Colwood, Highlands and Metchosin voters): Cendra Beaton; Russ Chipps; Trudy Spiller; one seat vacant
- Milne’s Landing Zone – 3 trustees (Sooke and Juan de Fuca voters): Amanda Dowhy, Ebony Logins, Allison Watson
Updates:
Check the Island Social Trends By-Election section for by-election updates throughout the summer/fall 2023 season.
===== RELATED:
- Two new MLAs sworn in at BC Legislature (July 28, 2023)
- Ready, set… SD62 prepares to launch trustee by-election for October 14 (July 21, 2023)
- Ravi Parmar to be sworn in as MLA on July 28 (July 12, 2023)
- Parmar presently holds two seats in the west shore (July 2, 2023)
- Parmar picks up the Horgan torch in Langford-Juan de Fuca (June 24, 2023)
- Langford-Juan de Fuca: June 24 election day RESULTS (June 24, 2023)
- Langford-Juan de Fuca by-election could lead to SD62 by-election (June 1, 2023)
- Five brand new trustees on SD62 board (October 21, 2022)
===== ABOUT ISLAND SOCIAL TRENDS:
Island Social Trends delivers socioeconomic news insights about life on the west shore of south Vancouver Island. Published by Brookeline Publishing House Inc, Island Social Trends follows in the footsteps of its genesis publications MapleLine Magazine 2008-2010, Sooke Voice News 2011-2013, and West Shore Voice News 2014-2020.
All news is posted at IslandSocialTrends.ca .
Editor Mary P Brooke, B.Sc., Cert PR has steered this publication series for 15 years. In that time period she has covered SD62 news up close (board and committee level) since 2014 and as well as broader west shore news.
In Fall 2022 Ms Brooke was a candidate in the Belmont Zone of SD62, connecting with the community through extensive door-knocking and in the process heard a much different view of public education expectations than what is usually presented at the board table.
Mary P Brooke now reports with the BC Legislative Press Gallery, having covered the COVID pandemic daily in 2020 and 2021 and broader BC news since 2017.
Ms Brooke has been nominated in 2023 for the Jack Webster Foundation’s Shelley Fralic Award for contributing to the community through journalism.
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