The candidates for the seven trustee seats on the Cowichan Valley school board introduced themselves, and their ideas, at an all-candidates meeting in Lake Cowichan on Sept. 29.
Most of the 18 candidates were on hand at the meeting at Centennial Hall, hosted by the Cowichan Lake District Chamber of Commerce, and approximately 40 people turned out to hear what they had to say.
Each candidate was given three minutes to tell the audience who they are, why they were running for the school board and to outline their platforms.
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One notable moment was when candidate Janice John-Mitchell broke into tears when describing her experiences with racism and bigotry when she was in school, and several of the other candidates walked to the speakers’ podium to comfort her before she began addressing the audience again.
Audience members were then given the opportunity for one-on-one conversations with the candidates in a speed-dating type of format.
Each of the candidates were seated at tables around the auditorium and voters were given several minutes to ask each of them questions.
Class sizes, curriculum and school facilities were among the issues on which people asked the candidates their opinions.
The candidates then gave closing remarks to end the evening.
Candidate profiles can be found on the Lake Cowichan Gazette’s website.