Casey Brouwer was elected as the new school trustee for Osoyoos and Regional District Area A on Saturday. He won with 251 votes – 40 votes ahead of Penny Duperron, his closest rival. He was helped by a strong showing at the advance poll on Oct. 26 when he led with 83 votes, compared to 27 each for Duperron and third-place finisher John Redenbach. (Richard McGuire photo)
Casey Brouwer is preparing to step into his new role as a school trustee for Osoyoos following his by-election win on Saturday.
Brouwer was elected with 251 votes, according to preliminary results released Saturday at 9:02 p.m.
His closest rival was Penny Duperron, with 211 votes, followed by John Redenbach with 87 votes.
“I felt very honoured to be selected,” said Brouwer. “Honestly it was a bit of a nail biter because I know Penny is very passionate about it and she had a good campaign. I’m happy that I was chosen, but if I wasn’t running, I probably would have voted for Penny.”
Brouwer’s victory was in large part assisted by a strong showing in the advance poll of Oct. 26, where he picked up 83 votes, compared to 27 each for his two rivals.
The votes cast on the general voting day of Nov. 5 slightly favoured Duperron, who had 184 to Brouwer’s 168. Redenbach got 60 votes on Nov. 5.
The by-election was held to fill a vacancy after long-time trustee June Harrington announced this summer that she is stepping down.
Brouwer said he received a phone call of congratulations from Marieze Tarr, chair of the board and fellow Osoyoos trustee on Saturday after the outcome was announced.
He planned to meet with her on Monday, as well as with Harrington as he tries to get up to speed.
“June Harrington has been a huge advocate for the community,” said Brouwer. “I’m going to be meeting with her to pick her brain a bit and see her passion and vision of what the school district is.”
Brouwer said he would try to bring a fresh perspective to the school board as it faces educational challenges.
Tarr said she has known Brouwer for at least 10 years, both sitting together on the Osoyoos Recreation Board and having Brouwer coach her sons.
“I am excited to work with Casey,” she said. “New trustees bring new ideas, points of view and energy to the board table.”
With only 549 votes cast in the by-election, some local residents expressed frustration on social media that there weren’t more votes cast – especially given the controversy earlier this year over the threatened closure of Osoyoos Secondary School (OSS).
Brouwer said that with the size of Osoyoos’ population, he would have liked to see at least 1,000 people cast votes.
“The numbers were low, but it still says people want their voices heard,” he said. “I’m going to do what I can to be that advocate for them. It would have been nice to have more turnout, but I’m happy for those that did show up and vote.”
The election of Brouwer did not please rival candidate Redenbach, who took to Facebook Sunday morning to express his displeasure.
“So let me get this straight,” Redenbach wrote. “A guy who insinuates Oliver has better schooling than Osoyoos in the paper, has a child in the Oliver high school and says he didn’t do anything to help save our school last spring, except had a feeling it would all work out gets voted in to replace June Harrington. I hope we’re ready for this Osoyoos!”
Brouwer did not mention Redenbach in an interview Monday, but he did address the issue of whether he had taken a strong enough position on saving OSS.
“Maybe I wasn’t as vocal in the media or the front lines as to saving our school, but I was there at the rallies, I was there at the meetings,” said Brouwer. “I just wasn’t as public as perhaps maybe some people would have wanted, but I was fighting just as much as anyone else. I didn’t feel at that particular time that it was something I needed to put my face on, but I was working behind the scenes.”
Brouwer, who coaches basketball at OSS, said he was “heartbroken by the fact that our program was going to be shut down.”
Tarr also expressed appreciation to Harrington for her work.
“June has always been a strong advocate for public education and her voice at the board table will be sadly missed,” said Tarr. “I really enjoyed working with June in the last 14 years. She was a great mentor to me.”
Tarr hopes that Harrington’s contributions will be publicly acknowledged at the Nov. 23 regular board meeting.
School District 53’s education committee meets Wednesday, Nov. 9 in Osoyoos. The next regular board meeting is Nov. 23.
RICHARD McGUIRE
Osoyoos Times
