Candidates running for office deserve respect

This is my first time running for a position as a Surrey school trustee and it isn’t as simple as most people would think. As an independent, one must recover campaign costs by trying to gather personal donations from family and friends. Since donations are not tax deductible, this is a very hard task to begin one’s launch into a political race.

I think this is the biggest hurdle one must jump over when thinking about seeking public office. However, there are other things that have been rather surprising to me when you look at the kind of attitudes people have about civic elections.

Different than federal elections, where donations are tax deductible and candidates are usually supported by a political party, citizens like me running as independents do not have a group or party to support them with manpower or fundraising efforts. I interviewed most of the mayoral candidates, asking if they would support school trustees in their campaign, and all three major parties in this election would not consider this.

One explanation was the additional cost to run their campaign and, second, they wanted to focus on themselves and their slate of councillors.

This sends a strong message from our potential city council that education is not one of their priorities and that they do not want to consider the candidates that will be running the major budget and highest city employer in Surrey.

The other shocking thing is the way people feel they can say whatever they want about you and your campaign without really knowing who you are. I received a nasty email saying my signs were “gaudy and intrusive … offensive and wasteful.”

On Day 1 of the campaign, my lawn signs on my own home and street were taken out of the ground and thrown down.

Most recently, I had to go out at 10:30 p.m. to rescue two of my street signs that were damaged and left hanging on their frames. It was a violent attack, since my signs are not just stapled on their frames but screwed in place, with 12 screws in each sign.

Some may say they were just kids who didn’t know what they were doing, but we need to teach people to respect other people’s property and give them a full understanding of what the process of a democratic election means to Canadians.

The cost of offering one’s service to this country may come with a price, but we do not need to be disrespected or targeted for what others may consider a way to get back as a statement about their own unhappiness.

I am more than happy to accept the hard work ahead of me by making it through this first step into public service. I truly love being an educator and hope that I have instilled some good values into the thousands of students I have taught over the years.

Serving as a school trustee is just the next step to ensuring that our future generations have a good education.