School trustees elected in Surrey and White Rock

Five incumbent trustees will return to the Surrey Board of Education, and two newcomers were elected after the Oct. 17 municipal election. Terry Allen led the Surrey trustee race with 47,604 votes, followed by Garry Thind, Laurie Larsen, Bob Holmes, Shawn Wilson and newcomer Dr. Michelle Ceniza. Those six will represent Surrey on the seven-member board, alongside one trustee elected by White Rock voters. Twenty-four candidates ran for Surrey’s six positions, while three contested the single White Rock seat.

White Rock election

Laura Lattanzio won White Rock’s trustee seat with 2,260 votes (43.52 per cent), narrowly defeating Dee Reiter, who received 2,224 (42.83 per cent). Philip Warner received 709 votes (13.65 per cent). Laurae McNally did not run for the White Rock position for the first time in a long while, leaving the seat open to a new representative. Results posted on the City of White Rock website show Lattanzio won by just 36 votes.

Lattanzio told Peace Arch News she was behind for much of election night and was preparing herself for the possibility she would lose. She said she was confident she had run a good campaign, but not confident about the outcome. She knew she had done all she could and trusted the community to choose the direction it wanted for its schools. When results from the final polling location came in and the numbers shifted, she said she was surprised and deeply grateful. She described the 36-vote gap between the top two candidates as an exceptionally close race.

Lattanzio said she is excited to serve and contribute to the board’s work, with students at the centre of every decision. She thanked community members who voted, volunteered, supported her campaign and allowed signs on their properties. She spent election night at home with family and friends, and is looking forward to meeting fellow trustees and district administration, connecting with schools, and listening to students, families and staff.

She also thanked Reiter and Warner for putting their names forward and sharing their perspectives with the community. Lattanzio said running for public office had given her a new respect for the commitment it requires, wished both candidates well, and expressed gratitude for the community’s support and trust.

Surrey election

Five members of the Surrey First Education slate were re-elected, while Ceniza was the only candidate elected from the SURREY NOW slate. Gary Tymoschuk, the Surrey First Education slate’s sixth member, was not elected and will not join the other five as a Surrey Schools trustee. Tymoschuk received 32,671 votes; Ceniza received 34,203, winning the final Surrey trustee seat by 1,532 votes.

According to the Surrey Schools website, Tymoschuk was first elected to the Surrey Board of Education in 1996 and served one term before being re-elected in 2014. He was vice-chairperson from 1996 to 1999 and was serving as board chairperson before the election. In a response to Peace Arch News, he said he respected Surrey voters’ decision and was grateful for the school community’s trust over the years. He said election night was not the personal outcome he had hoped for, but he was incredibly grateful for voters’ trust over the past 12 years. Serving on the board, particularly as chair for the past two years, had been an honour and a privilege.

Tymoschuk said he was proud of the board’s work supporting students, expanding classroom capacity and strengthening programs for children and families. He said he was leaving knowing he had given the role his best, and congratulated his five re-elected colleagues as dedicated public servants who care deeply about Surrey’s students. His time as a trustee may be ending, he said, but his commitment to public education and the Surrey community has not.

Anne Whitmore, the former president of the Surrey District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC), also ran unsuccessfully for a Surrey trustee seat as a candidate with the Our Surrey slate.

Possible by-election

Thind’s re-election comes as he campaigns for a seat in the B.C. legislature in the provincial general election on Oct. 24. He previously told the Surrey Now-Leader he was urging voters not to vote for him in the trustee race because he was also running provincially.

Under B.C. law, MLAs cannot simultaneously hold a local elected office, including school trustee. If Thind is elected and becomes an MLA, he would have to leave his trustee position, which could trigger a by-election to fill the vacancy. Peace Arch News has reached out to Thind for further comment and has also contacted Ceniza, Whitmore and Reiter. The story will be updated if responses are received.