Voters will get to hear from the four candidates vying to fill the vacant seat on school board at a Jan. 22 all-candidates meeting.
New Westminster District Parent Advisory Council is hosting an all-candidates meeting on Monday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. at New Westminster Secondary School, 820 Sixth St. Community members are invited to attend the event, where they can meet and hear from the candidates running in the New Westminster school district’s trustee byelection.
“Come out and meet the candidates, hear what they have to say,” said Laura Kwong, SD40 DPAC chair. “An informed voter is the best kind of voter.”
Candidates will answer questions submitted by parents, caregivers, PACs and students.
“They shouldn't be surprised by any of the questions. They're all related to current issues in our district or public education in British Columbia in general,” Kwong told the Record. “I'm not going to give away too much because we are not going to give the candidates the questions ahead of time.”
Kwong said DPAC hosted an all-candidates meeting prior to the October 2022 civic election, and it was well received.
“I felt we had some good attendance. The candidates answered some really great questions, especially from the students,” she said. “And we hope that we helped inform voters on who these candidates are; we hope to do the same again.”
DPAC is comprised of parent representatives from New West schools.
“We're an advocacy, volunteer-based group. We represent all parents and caregivers in the district, and we advocate to the board of education and the district on anything related to education in our district,” Kwong said. “We do a lot of parent education. We provide support for the PACs that make up the membership of our executive. Our main role is advocacy on behalf of parents and caregivers.
A byelection is being held on Saturday, Feb. 3 to fill a vacancy on the New Westminster school board resulting from the resignation of former trustee Dee Beattie. Advance voting will be taking place on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at the Queensborough Community Centre and on Wednesday, Jan. 31 at New Westminster City Hall.
Four candidates have declared their intentions to run in the 2024 school trustee byelection: Jalen Bachra (Community First New Westminster); Kathleen Carlsen (New West Progressives); Alejandro Diaz; and Shawn Sorensen.
NWSS grad gets the labour nod
The New Westminster and District Labour Council has formally endorsed Community First candidate Jalen Bachra – one of four candidates running in the Feb. 3 school board byelection.
“I’m thrilled to have the support of our local labour council," Bachra said in a news release. “They are an important voice in our community, and having their support helps advance my goal of being a strong voice for students and working families.”
According to a Community First news release, the NWDLC represents trade unions at a local level and is a chartered organization of the Canadian Labour Congress. Its mandate is to represent workers and their families.
"The NWDLC is pleased to endorse Jalen Bachra for New Westminster School Board in the byelection on Feb. 3,” said Janet Andrews, secretary treasurer of the labour council. “His energy, insights, and previous experience as a student representative will be a valuable addition to the board. We look forward to his leadership on our shared values of inclusive, accessible schools with strong student and staff supports.”
In the 2022 civic election, the New Westminster and District Labour Council supported Community First New West candidates running for mayor, councillor and school trustee positions, with those candidates winning the mayor’s race and four of six city councillor seats. In the school board race, the labour council endorsed six candidates – incumbents Beattie, Gurveen Dhaliwal and Maya Russell, and new candidates Marc Andres, Elliott Slinn and Cheryl Sluis; all were elected.
Bachra, who is the Community First New West candidate in the byelection, works as a part-time constituency assistant to Burnaby South MP Jagmeet Singh and attends university.
