The Pender Post Society’s all-candidates meetings have been scheduled for early October. Tell the person next to you, text your mate in Port Wash. Sing it from the roof of Poets Cove. Invite the island to take advantage of these opportunities to meet our candidates and pose questions ahead of the October 17 election.
We will be holding two events:
- North Pender Islands Trust candidates: Sunday, October 4, 1 pm, at the Pender Islands School gymnasium.
- South Pender Islands Trust candidates: Saturday, October 10, 1 pm, at the Pender Islands School gymnasium.
The acclaimed candidates for CRD Electoral Area Director (Southern Gulf Islands) and Gulf Islands School District Trustee (Pender Islands) have also been invited to attend both meetings and introduce themselves and their
vision.
I’d like to apologize to the groups putting on shows on those days for the unavoidable conflicts with their events. It is difficult to find an accessible time that doesn’t have something already calling our attention – a welcome feature of our busy island lives, to be sure. All candidates have also been invited to submit an introduction for publication in our upcoming October issue.
B.C.’s general local election, held every four years, is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17.
Kristen Morley, the CRD’s chief elections officer, confirmed the following candidates for North Pender’s two Islands Trust seats:
• Aaron Campbell
• Michael Cowan
• Morgan Hayward
• Brenna Mongeon
• Niall Parker
The candidates for South Pender’s two Islands Trust seats are:
• Kristina Evans
• Dag Falck
• John Kuharchuk
• Benjamin McConchie
General voting will take place Oct. 17 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Pender Islands School, 5714 Canal Rd. Advance voting will be available Wednesday, Oct. 7, and Wednesday, Oct. 14, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Pender Islands School and the Mary Winspear Centre, 2243 Beacon Ave. in Sidney. Mail in voting is available for electors who submit an application by Sept. 30. Information on registration, ID requirements and election details is available at crd.ca/vote.
Check out October’s issue of The Pender Post for more details about the upcoming election and local candidates, all of whom will be invited to share their messages with our readers. The Pender Post Society will also be hosting all-candidates meetings in early October. Details will be shared in the October issue, as well as at penderpost.org and our social media pages.
Nominations for Pender’s four Islands Trust representatives, the CRD’s Southern Gulf Islands area director and the District School Trustee (SD64) closed Sept. 11. The CRD manages this full set of local elections and has confirmed the names that will appear on the ballot.
Pender Island resident Rob Fawcett will be acclaimed as the CRD director for the Southern Gulf Islands after facing no opposition. Fawcett has served as the region’s alternate director under current representative Paul Brent.
Brent announced earlier this year he would not seek re election. Instead, he has been nominated and will be acclaimed as one of two Islands Trust representatives on Saturna Island.
Greg Lucas, the current Pender Islands trustee for the Gulf Islands School District, will return to the position by acclamation.