Votes for trustees
As part of its campaign to engage voters in the civic election, November 15, 2014, Peak Publishing is hosting the Powell River Board of Education trustee all-candidates forum.
The community is invited to meet 11 candidates running for five seats at the forum from 7 to 9 pm on Thursday, November 6, at Max Cameron Theatre.
“Last local government election in 2011, all school trustees in Powell River were elected by acclamation,” said publisher Joyce Carlson. “With so many people putting their names forward this time, we felt it was important to the democratic process to have an all-candidates forum so voters could hear from them.”
School trustees are elected to serve the diverse needs of their community. According to the BC School Trustees Association, they work to maintain and build an education system that listens to expectations, meets values and reflects local priorities. “School trustees listen to their communities; guide the work of their school district; and set plans, policies and the annual budget,” the association’s website explains. “Boards are directly accountable to the people they serve.”
Incumbents Aaron Reid, Jeanette Scott, Doug Skinner and Mary James are running for re-election. Lauren Exter, Ted Cooper, Cynthia Barnes, Kevin Dodd, Ashley Hull, Maureen Mason and Frank Schmidt have put their names forward for the four-year term. Trustee Steve Formosa has decided to step down from the position, but has stepped up to moderate the all-candidates forum.
The forum is an opportunity to hear from each candidate, with up to three candidates at a time answering each question. The success of the evening depends upon questions from the audience, and everyone of any age is encouraged to attend.
“Our staff made the decision to take this on and have been involved in the format for the evening,” said Carlson. “We’re looking forward to the evening.”
