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Daniel Boisvert
Striding into Public Service
O
n April 22, 2018, I was having dinner with friends in Lahaina, Maui, at Fleetwood’s, owned by Mick Fleetwood of Fleetwood Mac. On top of excellent food on a spectacular patio, the music was phenomenal. The conversation turned to politics. My friend is neighbour to the former Chief Administrative Officer George Harvie in Delta, who was expected to run for the position of Mayor of the City of Delta in the fall election. I have known George professionally for a few years and have always admired his work ethic and love for the place I have called home for 45 years. My friend and I spent the better part of the evening talking about what George’s campaign might look like. I recall saying that although I was interested in public service, I was not yet ready to embark on such a mission. After dinner, we went downstairs where the band was playing and enjoyed the music until the restaurant closed. It was a great evening. At 8 am Sunday morning, April 29, George Harvie called, wanting to meet with me about joining his campaign. I was stunned.
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Three days later, George told me about his campaign plans and platform and all the great people he had assembled to run with him. When he asked if I was interested in joining the team, I said I wasn’t prepared to run for a council position. Council was not what he had in mind . . . George asked me to run for school board trustee.
What he was really saying was get out there and knock on doors. Knock on a hundred and a hundred more until your legs ache and your voice starts to crack. Then do it again the next day. That strategy worked for Ian; he had won the MLA seat quite comfortably. All his door-knocking made the difference so off I went!
I requested a couple of days to do some research. After some serious soul-searching, I agreed to join his team and campaign for the position of a school board trustee for the 37th School District of Delta.
We had 4 weeks to get our story across. Our team did a lot of doorknocking and the residents of Delta shared many thoughts, feelings, and even emotions with us. We took time to listen. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I engaged with my community as never before. I met many wonderful people and we shared many stories.
Our team did a lot of door knocking and the residents of Delta shared many thoughts, feelings, and even emotions with us. From the beginning, I felt my chances of getting elected were low. Incumbents are not often defeated in school board elections. Seventeen people were running for 7 seats and 6 were incumbents. My friend Ian Paton, MLA for Delta South, gave me some sound advice. He said if you want to win a campaign, all you need to do is have a meaningful discussion about yourself and your campaign platform with every single registered voter in Delta and you will be well on your way to securing their vote. The Society of Notaries Public of British Columbia
Campaigning and sign-placing with my kids Noah and Abby Volume 27 Number 4 Winter 2018
