For the third-straight School District 57 trustee election, Sharel Warrington has earned the trust of the voting public.
Warrington gathered 6,191 votes Saturday to top the list of 16 candidates on the trustee ballot, with 35 of 41 polls counted.
"I'm very pleased," said Warrington. "We have some wonderful challenges and some wonderful opportunities and this board needs to really come together and do the good work for our students and I believe they can."
It was also a night to celebrate for trustee incumbent Trish Bella, also reelected for a three-year term, but not a happy occasion for incumbents Valentine Crawford and Rhonda White, who were defeated.
Also appeared to be elected to the school board were Sharon Bourassa, Betty Bekkering, Tim Bennett, Brenda Hooker and Kate Cooke. Bourassa led the pack of newcomers with 5,312 votes, followed by Bekkering (5,041), Bennett (4,587), Hooker (4,709), Kate Cooke (3,877).
Warrington was not surprised with the trustee election results.
"There were a lot of good people putting their names forward and I really think the strong ones have come forward," she said. "We went through a tough time and I guess the public looked at the board and wanted a change, but they've got new people and that's what's exciting."
Bella gathered 5,801 votes. A full-time retail sales clerk at Gingerbread Toys, Bella served as vice-chair of the school board during the last term and looks forward to working with the five new faces. She said those five successful candidates were well-prepared for the election and won votes with their answers at public forums in Prince George, Valemount and Mackenzie.
"We had a lot of questions at the forums posed to us from parent groups and teachers and I think people were seriously listening and wanted answers and they voted by how the answers came, which is what we want," said Bella. "I'm just so very pleased."
Bourassa, a operational compliance auditor with the B.C. Lottery Corporation, brings experience to the board as a school trustee in Chilliwack from 2005 to 2008.
"I'm really excited for the term ahead, there were a lot of very good candidates and I think the chosen ones will make a good team," said Bourassa. "I'm really happy with the choice of incumbents that are in. There's a lot of diversity on the board, a couple of us who have a really strong financial background, and Sharel brings her years with the district. I like who the voters picked."
Bekkering got involved in federal politics as the NDP parliamentary candidate in 2008, losing to incumbent Jay Hill. She also took a run at a seat on Prince George city council in 2005.
Hooker, an auditor for Revenue Canada, spent a lot of effort using Facebook and Twitter to offer details about her plans for the board. She's looking forward to her chance to keep a close eye on the school district's books.
Cooke is a stay-at-home mother of two children and the wife of a secondary school teacher in Prince George. In her first term as a trustee she plans to draw on her experience working on finding alternatives to school closures during the latest round of closures in 2010.
Bennett is the interim executive director of Big Brothers, Big Sisters. At 25, he's the youngest member of the board but has an extensive background working for non-profit organizations.
Sixteen trustee candidates were on the ballot, two of whom were unable to fulfill their campaign obligations. The unsuccessful candidates in order of their vote totals, with 35 polls verified, were: White (3,723); Don Sabo (3,711), Crawford (3,616); Andrew Burton (3,410); Elona Arnett (3,076); Shawn Peters (2,957); Earl Krushelnicki (2,128); Bal Gill (1,823) and Kris Benson (1,760).
Benson announced a week before the election that he was moving to Edmonton. A death in the family prevented Gill from following through on his campaign plans.
The new board is scheduled to meet for its first public meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m. at the district office on Ferry Avenue. One of the first orders of business will be to elect a chair of the board to replace Lyn Hall, who overwhelmingly won a seat on Prince George city council Saturday.
The board must also elect representatives for the B.C. Public School Employees Association and the B.C. School Trustees Association. The trustees will gather for team-building sessions in Vancouver, Dec. 8-10.
