Judge to Decide if Surrey Holds $840,000 Byelection
Garry Thind's dual election as a school trustee and MLA may trigger a costly byelection in Surrey, British Columbia, pending a court determination.
A judge will determine whether Surrey, British Columbia, must hold a school trustee byelection following the dual election of Garry Thind. Thind was re-elected as a school trustee on October 17 and subsequently won a seat as a Conservative MLA for Surrey-Guildford on October 24. Because he is disqualified from serving as a trustee once sworn in as an MLA, the seat must be filled.
The Local Government Act allows a court to either order a byelection or declare the next-highest vote recipient, incumbent Gary Tymoschuk, as the elected trustee. The school district would be responsible for funding a byelection, which is estimated to cost approximately $840,000. Applications for a court determination must be filed by November 20.
Thind stated that BC Conservative party officials are seeking legal alternatives to avoid the vote to prevent additional costs for taxpayers. He noted that people would be happy if no cost were involved in filling the single seat.
