Judge rules two candidates ineligible, reducing Surrey school trustee ballot from 26 names to 24

A provincial court judge’s ruling has reduced the number of candidates for Surrey school trustee in the Oct. 17 civic election to 24 from the 26 who filed nomination documents with the city’s election office.

Tatiana Da Silva and Susha Cassidy Jones of the New Surrey+ slate were ruled ineligible on Sept. 18 because their papers were not properly filed with Elections BC and Surrey City Hall. The judge found that six Surrey Now candidates were eligible: Venson Wang, John Banovich, Michelle Ceniza, Rohit D’Silva, Vincent Tighe and Vanessa Gilera.

Glen Murray, the husband and financial agent of Anne Whitmore, challenged all eight nominations in court. Whitmore is president of the Surrey District Parent Advisory Council and one of four Our Surrey candidates seeking school trustee positions.

Whitmore said her group brought the application after forming an electoral organization and following the rules, while observing other groups promote candidate slates without being properly registered in the jurisdiction. Under new rules, electoral organizations must file nomination documents with both provincial and civic election bodies. She said a party name can be important for name recognition and a candidate’s prospects in a crowded election field.

Whitmore, who is running alongside Dean McGee, Vick Karan and Kyle Jones, said candidates seeking governance roles need to understand the rules governing them. She also said families have been frustrated by what they see as limited opportunities for meaningful consultation with the school board; Surrey DPAC gets one meeting a year with the board and may ask three questions.

School District 36’s board of education has six trustees elected in Surrey and one in White Rock. The same seven trustees have served on the current board since 2014. Laurae McNally, the White Rock representative, is the only one not seeking re-election after 41 years on the board, beginning in 1980.