COPE nomination shockers like the ouster of longtime councillor David Cadman didn't extend to the left-leaning party's school board nomination race Sunday. Not surprisingly all three incumbents-Allan Wong, Allen Blakey and Jane Bouey-secured spots on the party's four-person school board slate. COPE signed a deal with Vision Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»to run four candidates to Vision's five for seats at the nine-person table.
Gwen Giesbrecht, who was chair of the District Parent Advisory Council (DPAC) for two terms, landed the last slot. She stepped down from DPAC to campaign.
Wong collected 56,027 votes in the 2008 race, Blakey won 49,045 and Bouey earned 48,227 for fifth, sixth and seventh place respectively. All four top spots last election went to Vision candidates, including board chair Patti Bacchus who finished first with 64,451 votes.
Giesbrecht, meanwhile, isn't the only person with DPAC connections seeking office in November.
Last week, the NPA named Sandy Sharma as the latest of its five candidates angling for a school board seat.
Sharma has been involved in her child's school parent group and is a former member of DPAC's executive. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Relations and has been involved in real estate since 1993, according to her official biography.
Sharma is licensed as an associate broker and has owned a real estate appraisal and consulting company since 2003. She was DPAC's vice-chair in 2010 to July 2011 and her daughter is in elementary school.
"I have been a DPAC executive for the past three years and I don't like the way the current board of trustees is running things. I find it to be unprofessional," she told the Courier Monday, calling attention to last year's highly critical special advisor's report on the district's finances. ".I found that many of my questions were dismissed or ignored [by the board], that it's more about a political agenda rather than looking at the actual school board and moving forward."
If elected, Sharma said she'll focus on accountability, transparency and empowering parents to be advocates for their children.
When asked what it will be like moving from a nonpolitical role on the parent council to a political role, she said: "I believe that a trustee is supposed to be a co-governor with the ministry in running the school district, so I don't necessarily know if it's going to be a political role for me. I'm just looking at it from the point of view of somebody who is there to be a steward of the district."
Sharma doesn't expect any problems running against Giesbrecht, her former DPAC colleague.
"I'm doing this for the children of Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»and for the people of Vancouver, so it's up to the voters to decide who they want. I don't see it as a competition against the other trustees. Everybody has the same intention-we all want the same things for the children. We just have different views."
Sharma is running for office with incumbent Ken Denike as well as Sophia Woo, Fraser Ballantyne and Stacy Robertson.
Twitter: @Naoibh
