THE WEDNESDAY
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
TRI-CITY NEWS
OCT. 15, 2014 www.tricitynews.com
CANADIAN COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER AWARD 2012
Moody gets creative
Soccer, hockey & more
SEE ARTS, PAGE A23
SEE SPORTS, PAGE A27
INSIDE
Tom Fletcher/A10 Letters/A11 Community Calender/A22 Sports/A27
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AND THEY’RE OFF... KEEP UP ON CIVIC ELECTION NEWS USING THESE HASHTAGS
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Plenty want a shot at school trustee jobs By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
In the aftermath of a province-wide public school strike and 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
TRI-CITY NEWS FILE PHOTO
With the teachers’ strike and SD43 financial troubles, it has been a time of turmoil in public education but plenty of people want to run for school trustee in the Tri-Cities. 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. see CANDIDATES, page A6
Four are running outside their cities Alty, from Sooke, has the longest commute By Diane Strandberg THE TRI-CITY NEWS
Should candidates live in the city in which they are running? Although there is no residency requirement in municipal and school board elections, that
question has been bandied about on Twitter in recent weeks as the election campaign heats up towards a Nov. 15 vote. In the Tri-Cities, four candidates are running outside the city in which they reside. The one who lives furthest away, according to election documents, is Gail Alty, who resides in Sooke on Vancouver Island and is seeking
re-election as a school trustee in Coquitlam. The veteran trustee, who was first elected to the School District 43 board of education in 1993, moved to Vancouver Island about five years ago to be with her husband, who has a business there, and says she maintains close ties with Coquitlam and has property in the city. “I think I can contribute to the board in a positive
way,” said Alty, who said she wanted to run again for the four-year term because she is still passionate about education. When asked if she would vote for someone who didn’t live in the city they were running, Alty said it would depend on how committed they were and what their experience is. see DIF. REASONS, page A5
IN QUOTES
“For 31 years, I’ve been a volunteer, an employee and a trustee, that’s been my focus the whole time I’ve been in Coquitlam.” Gail Alty
ELECTION INFORMATION In mayoral matchups, the three incumbents each takes on challengers in the Tri-Cities: ■ Coquitlam: Stewart vs. Sekora and Mahovlich ■ PoCo: Moore vs. Hirvonen ■ PoMo: Clay vs. Royer See full lists on page A3