Penny Duperron believes the school board has an obligation to address an oversight it made in the recent school trustee by-election. (Photo by Richard McGuire)
A candidate in the recent trustee by-election in Osoyoos has challenged School District 53 to rectify an error it made in the election process.
At last night’s board meeting in Oliver, Penny Duperron said the election should be declared invalid because the board contravened the Local Government Act by not holding a second advance poll during the election.
Chief Election Officer Lynda Minnabarriet confirmed this by saying they only held one advance poll, noting it was an “oversight.”
Casey Brouwer won the by-election with 251 votes – 40 votes ahead of 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.
Brouwer was sworn in as the new trustee last night, but Duperron said the onus is on the board to address the error. For example, make an application to the BC Supreme Court to overturn the election.
But on Wednesday board chair Marieze Tarr said the board, according to the Local Government Act, does not make this decision. She noted it is up to the chief election officer, a candidate in the election, or at least four electors to bring the application to the Supreme Court to challenge the validity of the election.
“It is important to remember that this will not necessarily result in the by-election being declared invalid, as the act does anticipate the possibility of errors or oversights,” Tarr said.
The chair said the board believes that the election was conducted in good faith and in accordance with the principles of the Act, and that the irregularity or failure did not materially affect the result of the election.
By Lyonel Doherty
