Cristi May Sacht has been chosen the new school trustee to represent Area C of the regional district on the board of education for School District 71.
In a news release Saturday night, the district announced May Sacht had won the position after voting closed earlier in the evening. There were no numbers as to votes cast or voting margins from the Dec. 12 byelection in the release or through the Elections BC website.
May Sacht was one of six candidates running to replace former trustee and board chair Ian Hargreaves, who stepped down in early September. She was a little surprised at the news that she had won.
“My initial reaction is that I’m completely honoured,” she told the Record. “I hope that I can do the best job.”
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She will be sworn in as of early 2021 and serve the remaining term of almost two years until the next local elections in 2022.
She works as a certified energy advisor and wanted to run a campaign that had a smaller ecological footprint, so she avoided lawn signs but had someone in an electric vehicle post up posters in key locations. The posters are reusable, she added, and she also used social media and uploaded a few videos to get her message out.
“I had an amazing campaign team,” she said
When the position came open in September, she had wondered about it but did not start thinking seriously about it until a few peers whose advice she respected got her thinking about running.
“I’m just educating myself,” she said. “I’m really excited about the opportunity.”
She and her family live in Black Creek and her four children attend Miracle Beach, Vanier and Highland. In an earlier candidate statement she said she believes the success of a trustee starts with open communication. She listed her other priorities as financial soundness, district policies, advocacy, transparent governance and consultation with all of the stakeholders.
As far as her next steps, May Sacht wants to take some time “to get my feet wet” and be open to hear the concerns of people in her electoral areas about school issues.
mike.chouinard@comoxvalleyrecord.com
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