White Rock municipal election draws a broad field of candidates

White Rock voters will choose their local and regional representatives for the next four years on Oct. 17. The mayoral race has three candidates: incumbent Megan Knight, current councillor Susan Bains of Together White Rock, and independent Chris Shields.

Fifteen candidates are seeking the city’s six council seats. Incumbent councillors David Chesney, Anthony Manning and Christopher Trevelyan of Together White Rock, along with independents Elaine Cheung and Bill Lawrence, are seeking re-election. The field also includes former 2018–22 councillor Scott Kristjanson; Together White Rock candidates Laura Cornale and Conrad King; and Steve Bede, Geoffrey Milne, Fiona MacDermid, Raj Oberoi, Jacob Spencer-Lubberts, Tracey Ellis and Phillip Warner.

Warner is running for both council and the school board. Tracey Arthur, White Rock’s director of corporate administration and deputy chief election officer, said such dual candidacies are unusual but permitted under B.C. election law, with precedents elsewhere in the province.

Long-serving school trustee Laurae McNally, who represented White Rock on the board for 46 years and was often acclaimed, did not file nomination papers. Warner, Dee Reiter and Laura Lattanzio are nominated for White Rock’s single school-board seat.

The Surrey and White Rock Board of Trade will hold all-candidates events at the White Rock Community Centre, 15154 Russell Ave.: a councillor forum on Sept. 21 from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m., followed by a mayoral forum at the same time on Sept. 22. Mail ballots may be requested from the City of White Rock until 4 p.m. on Oct. 15. Advance voting is scheduled for Oct. 7, 8 and 13 at Centennial Arena, 14600 North Bluff Rd., where parking fees will not be enforced during voting. Election Day voting runs from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17.