Three Green Party school trustee candidates topped the school trustee polls Saturday night, leading the way to another split Vancouver School Board.
As well as the three Greens, Saturday’s preliminary results show three Vision Vancouver trustees, two NPA trustees and one OneCity trustee elected.
The Greens’ Janet Fraser, who held the balance of power on the school board that was fired by then-education minister Mike Bernier for failing to pass a balanced budget last year, was re-elected easily and topped the polls. Coming second was her party-mate Judy Zaichkowsky. The Greens only ran three candidates and the third, Estrellita Gonzalez, was also elected and came third.
Judging by these results, it seems like Vancouver voters like what they see from the Green Party provincially — if they didn’t, it seems hardly likely they would so resoundingly elect all three candidates from the Green Party, two of whom are political newbies. Clearly, they also liked what they saw from Fraser last time around.
Fraser said she thinks people are looking for a change in politics.
“I think in the mind of voters, the Green brand is certainly growing in momentum and I think that helped us,” Fraser said. “I think it’s a lot to do with the Greens doing politics differently. Not being so partisan, not being tied to big money, working collaboratively.”
The three Vision Vancouver trustees elected are Joy Alexander, Allan Wong and Ken Clement. Alexander and Wong were on the fired board, while Clement was on the board prior to the 2014 election. Wong has been on the school board since 1999.
Former board chair Mike Lombardi, who was a Vision trustee from 2008 to 2016, was not re-elected. It’s hard to say whether that’s because voters have become disillusioned with Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson and his Vision Vancouver party or whether they were swayed by two reports that found bullying by trustees at the VSB.
It’s probably a combination of both, but Lombardi’s support was definitely affected by the bullying reports. However, for council the Vision Vancouver candidate, Diego Cardona, came fifth, and there have been no reports of bullying on council, so it appears party popularity is also a factor. Also, four of the fired trustees were re-elected.
Lombardi thanked the citizens of Vancouver for the privilege of serving eight years as a trustee.
“I am very proud of my advocacy and leadership in standing up for kids, public education, and keeping neighbourhood schools open,” Lombardi said in a statement.
For the NPA, newcomer Lisa Dominato was the lead vote-getter, while returning fired trustee Fraser Ballantyne was next.
Carrie Bercic, from OneCity was also elected. Bercic is new to politics, but has been a long-time involved parent in the district. She said she is proud to be the first elected OneCity candidate.
“I’m so thankful for OneCity, and I hope Vancouver knows that were just getting started,” Bercic said.
Dominato said she is confident all of the new trustees can work together to restore the public’s confidence in the district.
“Our first job will be to recruit and hire a new superintendent,” Dominato said in an email. “To attract someone of the highest calibre, the board will have to demonstrate that we can work respectfully and constructively across party lines.”
Janet Fraser is not too worried about the dynamics of a split board.
“I think a lot of people have said they are looking for a broad spectrum of voices on the board and hoping that will work well,” Fraser said. “There are nine trustees elected and it is their responsibility to make it work. It’s our responsibility to work together as a board.”
For the past year, the VSB has been run by appointed official trustee Dianne Turner, who will stay on board for another year.
The new school board is made up of six women and three men — that is the most women elected to the board in at least the past 20 years. In fact, it’s the first time since at least 1996 that women are in the majority on the board.
Also, it’s important to note that Ken Clement is Aboriginal, from the Ktunaxa First Nation. With the new curriculum’s focus on Canada’s First Nations people and their history, an Indigenous voice seems a positive addition to the board.
Voter turnout was a paltry 10.99 per cent, but people will soon get another chance to vote — there’s another civic election next fall, on Oct. 20.
Tracy Sherlock writes about education and social issues. She can be reached at [email protected].
This story has been updated since first published.
