Who's running in Vancouver's October byelection?
One councillor and nine school board trustees to be chosen on Oct. 14
The candidates for Vancouver's biggest byelection in recent memory have now all been named.
In total, 29 people will have their name on the ballot in the Oct. 14 byelection, where one councillor and nine school board trustees will be elected.
The byelection was prompted after former Vision councillor Geoff Meggs resigned to become Premier John Horgan's chief of staff.
A month later, the NDP government announced there would also be an election to replace the school board trustees who were fired en masse by the previous B.C. Liberal government in 2016.
- Vancouver School Board fired by B.C. education minister
- Vancouver Coun. Geoff Meggs named as John Horgan's chief of staff
Here are the candidates for both council and school board:
Council (can vote for one)
Vision Vancouver: Diego Cardona, a 21-year-old who has done work for a variety of non-profit groups, including serving as program coordinator for the Kiwassa Neighbourhood House.
NPA: Hector Bremner, the B.C. Liberal candidate for New Westminster in the 2013 election and former executive assistant to former cabinet ministers Rich Coleman and Teresa Wat.
Greens: Pete Fry, former chair of the Strathcona Residents Association and 2013 council candidate, and son of longtime Liberal MP Hedy Fry.
COPE: The longtime left-wing party is not running its own candidate, but has officially endorsed Jean Swanson, an anti-poverty and social justice advocate in Vancouver for over 40 years.
OneCity: Judy Graves, a homeless advocate who served with the city in an official capacity from 2010 to 2013. The OneCity party was formed before the 2014 municipal election.
Sensible Vancouver: Marijuana advocate Mary Jean "Watermelon" Dunsdon is running for the recently created Sensible Vancouver party.
Independents: Gary Lee, Damian Murphy, Joshua Wasilenkoff.
School board (can vote for nine)
Vision Vancouver: They are running five candidates — Mike Lombardi, Joy Alexander, Allen Wong (all three of whom were part of the former school board), Ken Clement and Theodora Lamb.
NPA: Five candidates — Fraser Ballantyne, Christopher Richardson (both of whom were part of the former school board), Lisa Dominato, Robert McDowell and Jorge Julian Prieto.
Greens: Three candidates — Janet Fraser (part of the former school board), Estrellita Gonzalez and Judy Zaichkowsky.
COPE: Diana Day.
OneCity: Carrie Bercic and Erica Jaaf.
IDEA Vancouver: Jamie Lee Hamilton.
Independents: Christine Arnold, Adi Pick.
'We don't want to disenfranchise people'
Janice McKenzie, Vancouver's chief election officer, said that about 50 polling stations will be up throughout the city, down from 120 during a general election.
Around 700 people will be working at the locations and the city continues to hire people for the day.
Voters need two identifying documents to prove they are Vancouver residents, but there are a variety of alternatives available, including swearing a declaration of identity.
"We don't want to disenfranchise people. We look at the nature of the ID, it's difficult to put everything down ... because there's different pieces of ID," said McKenzie.
Voter guides will be issued on Sept. 17, and advanced voting will take place on Oct. 4 and 10.