If you’re considering running for local office, there’s still time to throw your hat in the ring for next month’s municipal elections in British Columbia. The deadline for submitting nomination paperwork is this Friday, Sept. 11. In much of the province, that means running for positions on school boards, municipal councils and for the mayor’s chair, but also includes the park board in Vancouver, regional district directors, local community commissions and the Islands Trust. Elections B.C. has key deadlines, resources, and a running public directory of candidates but notes “unlike provincial elections, local elections are not managed by one organization” and the non-partisan office of the legislature is responsible for administering and monitoring campaign finance and election advertising rules. “Each local government is responsible for running its own local elections, including voting, counting, reporting results, and accepting candidate nominations,” reads the website. On Labour Day, the B.C. Teachers’ Federation urged voters to pay attention to school board races, which traditionally receive less attention than the outcomes at city halls. “School trustees govern school districts and make decisions that show up in classrooms: how limited funding is spent, which programs and student supports are prioritized, how schools are maintained and upgraded, and whether districts push the province for the funding students need,” noted a press release. BCTF president, Carole Gordon, emphasized that “who sits around the school board table matters.”
