r/nanaimo

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NANAIMO, B.C. — On Oct. 17 you're voting for more than mayor and council. The same ballot elects nine trustees to the Nanaimo Ladysmith Public Schools board, a body most voters encounter once every four years, at the bottom of the ballot, with the slow realization that they have to pick nine.

What a trustee does

Trustees vote as a board. They pass the district's budget, set policy, and hire and evaluate the superintendent. They don't write curriculum (the province does), and they don't run schools (the superintendent does). What's left is governance, which is a polite word for meetings.

The district's secretary-treasurer, Mark Walsh, said it plainly in 2024: the Ministry "is the main driver of curriculum, not the local school district," and trustees "couldn't come and change our obligations with respect to gender diversity."

That matters for both issues below. A trustee can't remove the district's obligations on gender diversity, which is what people mean when they say 'remove SOGI.' Anyone promising to is running for the wrong office, and possibly the wrong level of government. The cellphone rules come from a provincial order in effect since July 2024. What trustees decide is how the district applies it, and whether to go further.

So why are we asking trustees about SOGI?

Fair question. The resource comes from the Ministry. The obligations come from the Human Rights Code and the School Act.

But the province sets the floor, and the board decides what gets built on it. Trustees write the code of conduct and the student privacy policy. They decide how the district responds when protesters show up at a school, whether a facility gets booked for an anti-SOGI event, whether staff get backed in public or left on their own, and what happens when a complaint lands. Those are local calls, and boards elsewhere have made them badly. A former Chilliwack trustee was ordered this year to pay $750,000 over his anti-SOGI campaign.

The province can also change its mind. There's a provincial election Oct. 24, one week after this one, and the BC Conservatives have said they would scrap SOGI 123. If that happens, what a board does next is up to the board.

Same with phones. The ministerial order in effect since July 2024 is a minimum. Whether phones go in the bag at the bell or at lunch, and whether elementary and secondary get the same rule, is up to the district, as the answers below make clear.

Okay cool. Someone told me it's volunteer, is that true?

No, they are paid. About $28,000 a year, roughly half a city councillor. The chair gets a bit more.

The board, briefly

Naomi Bailey resigned as chair this spring to take a district staff job; Leanne Lee has chaired since May. Greg Keller, a trustee since 2018, is not running again. Tim Harris joined the board in a 2024 by-election after Charlene McKay resigned. We think we got that right.

Who's running

Eleven candidates, nine seats, all at-large. Every voter in the district, from Ladysmith to Lantzville to Gabriola, picks up to nine names from the same list. Two candidates will lose, which are better odds than most of us get.

Incumbents: Tania Brzovic, Tim Harris, Leanne Lee, Chantelle Morvay, Leana Pellegrin, Mark Robinson, Tom Rokeby.

New: Adrianne Cafariello, Kailey Gillam, Zeni Maartman, Fred MacDonald.

Two issues we found information on

To be clear, we didn't pick these, they just seemed to be discussed online more that other topics. Trustee candidates don't leave a long paper trail, and most of what exists is from 2022, the last time anyone asked them anything. Then two groups sent questionnaires this fall, one on 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion and one on cellphones, and all eleven answered in writing. So these are the two issues with receipts. If yours is class sizes, portables or busing, nobody has asked them yet. The forum is Thursday.

SOGI and 2SLGBTQIA+ inclusion. Nanaimo Pride sent every candidate a questionnaire in September on equity and inclusion, including inclusive school policies. All 11 trustee candidates answered. (The incumbent mayor, for comparison, has now missed two questionnaires this campaign.) Nanaimo Pride's spectrum places ten of them under "supportive" and one, Kailey Gillam, in "vague/unclear". That's Nanaimo Pride's assessment, not ours. Read the full answers at nanaimopride.ca/2026nanaimoelection and judge for yourself. For incumbents we've also included what they said in 2022, mostly from The Discourse's candidate survey.

Cellphones. Current SD68 rules: secondary students turn phones off or mute them before class; elementary students can't use them all day, recess and lunch included. The rules live in an administrative procedure (602.1AP) written by staff, not the board. Several candidates explained this distinction in their answers, unprompted and at length, which is the most trustee thing we have ever read. All 11 answered a seven-question PAC questionnaire on smartphones in schools. We've pulled each one's answer on whether the current procedure is good enough and on a full-day ban (phones inaccessible including lunch and transitions).

Incumbents

Tania Brzovic; Longest-serving member of the board, first elected 2014.

- SOGI, 2026: "I fully support SOGI. SOGI, in the context of what people get upset about, is a resource that teachers can use. It's an anti-bullying, pro inclusion approach to upholding the Charter in schools. It is a tool to help teachers create environments where students feel safe, welcome, respected.

The curriculum is the Personal Health Education curriculum. Issues related to sexual orientation & gender identity are a small percentage of what that area covers."

- Cellphones: Current procedure "fulfills ministry requirements." Full-day ban: "I can't say yes or no to this question right now." Argues "Prohibition often makes the banned item more enticing."

Tim Harris

- SOGI: No 2022 record (first elected 2024). Nanaimo Pride: "supportive."

- Cellphones: "There is always room for improvement." Did not say yes or no to a full-day ban. On the wording: "I will read this AP much closely and develop my opinion." He has been on the board since 2024.

Leanne Lee

- SOGI, 2022: "Every child has the right to be free from discrimination because of sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression and gender identity."

- Cellphones: Wants to "monitor its effectiveness." Full-day ban: would "carefully consider the practical implications" before supporting more restrictions.

Chantelle Morvay

- SOGI, 2022: "It definitely keeps kids safe." (Victoria News, Oct. 15, 2022)

- Cellphones: Says the procedure was written quickly to meet the provincial order and will be revisited. Says no to a separate district-wide policy because it "needs to be embedded in current policy" and procedures.

Leana Pellegrin

- SOGI, 2022: "Sogi123 is already a part of BC education; it's mandated by the province."

- Cellphones: Is the procedure sufficient? "Yes." Full-day ban: "No. Not being able to access one's personal phone is unreasonable and is a lifeline for some students."

Mark Robinson

- SOGI, 2022: "SOGI is an integral component to support services and curriculum that is greatly misunderstood and misrepresented by a vocal minority."

- Cellphones: Is the procedure sufficient? "Not at all." Full-day ban: "From a parent's lens and my own personal opinion, yes." Says he'd move to send the issue to the Policy Committee.

Tom Rokeby

- SOGI, 2026: "100% support SOGI 100% it is NOT curriculum."

- Cellphones: The procedure is "insufficient for today's classrooms." Supports a full-day ban in elementary but has "questions about how it would work in high schools."

New candidates

Adrianne Cafariello

- SOGI: Nanaimo Pride: "supportive." Her profile: "I believe in strong public education, strong unions, and strong communities."

- Cellphones: "Currently there is no direct policy which is insufficient in my perspective." Elsewhere in the same questionnaire, the current policy "provides an appropriate baseline." Full-day ban: "cautious about blanket policies."

Kailey Gillam

- SOGI, 2026: On her campaign page, Oct. 6: "SOGI is a resource that's available to teachers to support a safe and Inclusive school community. I unequivocally support the LGBTQ+ community." The same post lists what "must continue": "Transparency around what is taught. Families being included in the discussion." Her Nanaimo Pride answers, submitted in September, don't mention SOGI by name. Asked how she'd support educators delivering inclusive curriculum: "families deserve meaningful transparency about what is being taught, what resources are being used, and how schools are supporting students." Asked about facility bookings for events that promote hate speech: decisions should be "made fairly, transparently, and consistently regardless of viewpoint."

- Cellphones: Current policy is "an important foundation"; wants consistency "from classroom to classroom or school to school." Full-day ban: "open to considering stronger district-wide restrictions, including during lunch and transitions," with evidence and consultation.

Zeni Maartman

- Background: Former SD68 trustee and city councillor, 2018–2022.

- SOGI: Nanaimo Pride: "supportive."

- Cellphones: "Right now the policy is too broad." Would strengthen wording so phones are "turned off and stored or otherwise inaccessible during instructional time." Full-day ban: "cannot commit to a blanket ban without knowing the unintended consequences."

Fred MacDonald

- SOGI: Nanaimo Pride: "supportive."

- Cellphones: Is the procedure sufficient? "Yes." Full-day ban: "No. I would support 'no cell to the bell' for elementary schools and access during breaks or lunch time for high school students."

If a candidate isn't quoted on something, we couldn't find a public record. That doesn't mean they hold any particular position. It means trustees are not famous. Send us receipts and we'll add them.

How to vote

- Mark up to nine trustee names. You can mark fewer. You cannot mark twelve, though every election somebody tries.

- Nanaimo advance voting: Wednesday Oct. 7 and Wednesday Oct. 14, 8 a.m.–8 p.m., Beban Park Social Centre. General voting: Saturday Oct. 17, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. Details at nanaimo.ca/elections.

- Ladysmith, Lantzville and RDN voters: check your municipality or the RDN.

- Hear them yourself: the NDTA trustee forum is Thursday Oct. 8, 6 p.m., Beban Park Social Centre.

Read the whole ballot before you vote, including the bottom. Did we miss something or get something wrong? Let us know and we will update.

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