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BCA announces two new candidates for council, school board
The Burnaby Citizens’ Association has announced two new candidates for the upcoming election—one running for a seat on council and one seeking election as a school board trustee.
Maita Santiago, an immigration consultant from Metrotown described in a news release as a Filipino community leader, has been chosen to run for council in the place of Simone Brandl.
Santiago has lived in Burnaby since 2008 after returning from the Philippines, where she worked with migrant workers, according to a BCA news release.
Kristin Schnider, a Burnaby resident for 20 years and representative on the district parent advisory council for over 10 years, will be joining the slate’s school board candidates.
The two new candidates are running in the place of Claire Wang for school board and Simone Brandl for council. According to the BCA news release, the two former candidates, both of whom were not incumbents, stepped aside due to work and family commitments.
“We know that the electoral process and running a political campaign can be incredibly demanding and a huge challenge. We thank both Claire and Simone for their dedication and commitment to our Burnaby community,” said BCA president Leila Lolua in a written statement.
“Maita and Kristin bring enthusiasm, energy, and deep community experience to the Burnaby Citizens Association team. They are committed to building a more affordable, inclusive, and sustainable city for all Burnaby residents.”
Santiago joins incumbents Alison Gu, Sav Dhaliwal, Pietro Calendino, and James Wang on the ticket for council. Three more candidates—Reah Arora, Antara Deb, and Daniel Tetrault—were announced by the slate in early April.
And Schnider joins incumbents Jen Mezei, Bill Brassington, Peter Cech, Larry Hayes, and Gary Wong on the BCA school board slate. Ryan Stewart is the only incumbent not seeking re-election to school board.
Mikelle Sasakamoose was announced as a candidate for school board in mid-March.
The BCA, which has worked closely with Mayor Mike Hurley since he handily defeated BCA mayor Derek Corrigan in 2018, still has yet to say whether it will be running a mayoral candidate this year.
The party told the Beacon in an email on Thursday that it does not have an update on that issue but said officials with the group would reach out when they are “ready to comment on this.”
The new changes come shortly following an announcement that Coun Mike Hillman, elected in last summer’s byelection as an independent, was launching a new slate, the centre-right One Burnaby.
That six-member slate includes representation from the BC Liberals, the now-defunct right-leaning Burnaby Voters’ Association, and the federal Liberals.
Hillman said that party will not be running a mayoral candidate, as it fully backs Hurley, and it is still in discussions around running some school board candidates.
The Burnaby Green Party, which has also announced its slate of council candidates, will also be endorsing Hurley in the October election.