Langley school board chair joins Langley Strong slate

Langley School District board chair Candy Ashdown is running in October’s local elections and has joined the Langley Strong slate. Fellow board member Charlie Fox is also on the slate, which is fielding candidates for the school board and Langley Township council.

Ashdown called for a reset in relations between the school board and Township council. In February 2025, council unilaterally suspended the joint park-school site land acquisition program, which Mayor Eric Woodward had criticized. Since the early 1990s, the Township and school district had jointly bought land so new schools could open beside parks and playing fields. The district was not consulted before the vote.

Ashdown said the arrangement enabled the partners to secure school and park land early for more than 30 years, helping control costs and move new schools ahead more quickly as neighbourhoods grew. She said it became a provincially recognized model, but the board was not told suspension was under consideration or offered a chance to discuss it before council voted.

She has chaired the seven-member board since November 2022, during the district’s fastest period of growth. The district serves more than 27,000 students at 46 school sites. In the election, Langley City voters elect two of the seven trustees and Langley Township voters elect five, though all make decisions for the full district.

Ashdown said the two elected bodies serve the same families and should be prepared to listen, solve problems and find common ground. A district graduate, she volunteered in school communities for more than a decade before first being elected. She served as a trustee from 2011 to 2014, returned in 2022 and was selected chair by fellow trustees. She chairs the board’s Policy Committee and represents it on the ya:yestel Indigenous Education Council.

Jay Lundgren leads Langley Strong and is running for Township mayor. General voting day is Saturday, Oct. 17.