So I was trying to figure out who the heck to vote for for the School Trustee seats and there's not a lot of information for these candidates. I did the best I could with publicly available information and I wanted to summarize it for all of you. Maybe it'll help y'all out.

Firstly, my biases. I think conservatives are nuts so I rank them poorly. Honestly, I don't want to get mugged by bored uneducated children and I don't think most of you want that either so can we please not vote in any of these conservatives?

If you have the misfortune of being conservative, just reverse my rankings and this guide should still be useful. If you have trouble doing that, which I assume you probably will, DM me and I'll reverse the list for you. Or better yet, don't vote. Watch some WWE instead.

Election Oct 17. Six seats. Full candidate list and profiles on surrey.ca. DPAC questionnaire responses available (PDF on surreydpac.ca). Slates: Surrey First Education (mostly long-term incumbents), Surrey Now (tied to Troy Van Vliet, who founded a Catholic independent school), Our Surrey (parent/advocate slate, CUPE 728 endorsed), plus independents.

My lens: education-first, pro-science, anti-religion-in-schools, prepare kids for a global competitive economy. Conservative ideas, SOGI panic, “parental rights” as a dogwhistle, or any religious/ideological inkling is disqualifying. Long-term failure to fix portables and chronic underfunding is also a problem.

The Good

(Progressive, inclusion-focused, evidence-based public education advocates who prioritize supports, capacity, and preparing students without culture-war nonsense.)

Anne Whitmore (Our Surrey)

Archetype: Battle-tested parent advocate

+ DPAC president with a track record of fighting cuts, launching Room Clear Tracker for inclusion, and working with STA/CUPE.

+ Explicitly supports SOGI 123 as anti-bullying/respect resources (not sex ed). Focuses on “Enough Space, Support, Trust,” IEPs, and accountability.

+Collaborative, transparent, and actually engages families instead of stonewalling.

– Still unproven in the actual trustee seat.

– System is so broken that even good advocates face uphill battles on funding.

Kyle Jones, Vick Karan, Dean McGee (Our Surrey)

Archetype: Coordinated parent-educator slate

+ Shared platform on permanent schools over portables, staffing for inclusion, and restoring trust/engagement. CUPE endorsed.

+ Strong on special needs supports, anti-discrimination (including SOGI), and holding the superintendent accountable.

+ Fresh voices focused on equity rather than status quo.

– Limited individual public track records outside the slate.

– Risk of being outnumbered by entrenched interests.

Bob Holmes (Surrey First Education)

Archetype: Experienced inclusive advocate

+ Supports SOGI, proud parent of queer children, strong provincial advocacy via BCSTA. Focuses on outcomes, funding, and safe environments for all students.

+ Long DPAC/PAC background before becoming trustee.

+ Prioritizes classroom spending and graduation rates.

– Still part of the long-running board that hasn’t solved capacity.

– Institutional inertia.

Rohit D’Silva (Surrey Now)

Archetype: STEM/global-economy pragmatist

+ Explicitly pushes AI literacy, coding/robotics, cybersecurity, data science, dual credits with SFU/KPU, and makerspaces — actual preparation for the modern economy.

+ Engineering background, focuses on phasing out portables and enrichment.

+ Pro-science orientation without culture-war baggage.

– Runs with a slate whose leader founded a Catholic school.

– Non-response to some parent questionnaires.

Noor Cheema & Gurleen K. Chahal (Independents)

Archetype: Frontline/youth practical reformers

+ Cheema (EA background) prioritizes safety, capacity, special needs staffing, and age-appropriate inclusion while supporting Indigenous history. Chahal (recent grad, nursing student) brings science-based stress/mental health angle and youth perspective.

+ Both emphasize counselors, EAs, permanent schools, and reducing portables.

+ No strong conservative signals.

– Independents lack slate power.

– Limited broader visibility.

(Other solid-ish mentions: Shawn Wilson, Laurie Larsen, Gary Tymoschuk — experienced, support SOGI and equity language, but long incumbency.)

The Bad

(Status quo, mild conservative undertones, or uninspiring. Sarcastic +s where needed.)

Terry Allen (Surrey First Education)

Archetype: Eternal incumbent

+ Has been on the board since 2002 — truly experienced at watching portables proliferate.

+ Understands the $1B+ budget and special education shortfalls.

– Decades of advocacy haven’t fixed chronic underfunding or classroom space.

– Entrenched leadership that parents (including DPAC) say doesn’t listen.

– Classic “we’ve always done it this way” energy.

Surrey Now slate overall (Banovich, Ceniza, Gilera, Tighe, Wang + D’Silva)

Archetype: Safety-and-core-courses reformers with baggage

+ Some focus on capacity, mental health (Ceniza is a physician), and practical planning.

+ D’Silva’s tech enrichment is a genuine bright spot. – Mayoral candidate founded a Catholic independent school — religious inkling disqualifying for secular public education.

– Emphasis on “fundamental core courses,” police liaisons, and safety can drift into culture-war territory. Several non-responses to DPAC.

– Risk of importing private-school/religious priorities into the public board.

Gary B. Hee & Ghulam Mujtaba (Independents)

Archetype: Oddball technocrats

+ Hee has ideas about revenue generation and asset optimization. Mujtaba claims a progressive social outlook and global education exposure.

– Hee’s priorities (endowment funds, parking lot revenue, patio-style portables) feel like a side quest.

– Limited coherent public education philosophy or track record.

– Easy to get lost in the noise.

The Ugly

(Explicit conservatives, SOGI crusaders, or clear ideological red flags. Sarcastic +s.)

Amrit Birring (Independent)

Archetype: Single-issue SOGI warrior

+ Dedicated website (saveusfromsogi123.ca) and Freedom Party ties show real commitment to one topic.

+ Computer science background and interest in academic standards.

– Explicitly wants to purge SOGI 123 and “ideologies” from schools. Frames inclusion as government overreach.

– Classic culture-war candidate who treats evidence-based anti-bullying resources as indoctrination. Disqualifying.

– Zero tolerance for drugs/vaping is fine; the rest is not.

Garry Thind (Surrey First Education)

Archetype: Dual-running Conservative

+ Long board experience and fundraising record.

+ Focuses on Indigenous graduation rates.

– Now the BC Conservative candidate for Surrey-Guildford (provincial). Overt conservative affiliation.

– Advised voters to skip him to avoid a byelection. Dual candidacy is messy and signals priorities elsewhere.

– Conservative inkling = disqualifying.

Afzalur Rahman (Independent)

Archetype: “Let children be children” parental-rights guy

+ Teaching experience and autism parent perspective on special needs supports.

+ Wants more EAs and early intervention.

– Opposes the current SOGI approach, prioritizes “parents’ voice” on sensitive topics, and uses “let children be children” framing.

– Classic dogwhistle territory that undermines inclusive, evidence-based education.

– Disqualifying for anyone who wants schools free of culture-war panic.

Summary for voting:

Prioritize the Our Surrey slate (especially Whitmore) and any non-conservative independents or STEM-focused candidates like D’Silva who avoid religious/ideological baggage. Avoid SOGI panic candidates and pure status-quo long-timers if you want actual movement on capacity, inclusion, and global-economy readiness. Full DPAC responses and individual surrey.ca profiles are worth reading before Oct 17.

Hi everyone! I’ll be driving to Canada for an impromptu weekend trip tomorrow. It’s my first time visiting and I have a few inquiries if you don’t mind:

1. The weather report says it’s sunny high of 62°F.
   Does that feel accurate??
   
2. Any insights on entering/leaving the border?
   
3. Recommendations? Must-sees?

brings them down to 91 candidates now.

I was just reviewing differnet candidates platforms and came across this, seems like a cool idea.

None of the other major local parties have a detailed plan as this one.

UPDATE OWNER IDENTIFIED

Hi

This evening at 8:30pm I found a recently deceased white female cat, with gray tabby markings on its head and tail, on Scott Road and approximately 71st avenue.

I took the cat to Scottsdale Veterinary Hospital at 7072 Scott Road and determined the cat had no tattoo however it did have a microchip number.

I have a picture of the cat and microchip number if you are missing a cat and want to confirm if it is your cat.

The hospital is holding the cat for you if you wish to confirm identity with the clinic etc.

I am sorry for your loss if it was your cat.

Take care

Hello. Looking to see if anyone knows a good dry cleaners for down jackets, down pillows and duvets. I can’t afford to replace these items so I need someone who won’t ruin them.

She tried. For nearly 5 minutes. Kept going up and down on the curb...i really thought she'd hit the next car.

Saw this outside Tims on 120th and 80th.

21A Ave

I knoww lots of ppl dont care about municipal and turnouts are so loww but please do vote..tell ppl u know to vote.. no matter who u supporr..just go our n vote

Federal and provincial election gets all headlines..but Municipal has a more profound impact on our lives than we think

Go vote ppl!

Pattullo's arch moored by brownsville park for eventual recycling.

Think this was our 10th time doing this.

Me myself found so much focus, and did what I had set to do which is helping my friend set up a Meta Business Suite.

Others, created data dashboards, learned data analytics and created a calendar app from scratch.

It was awesome! DM or comment if you wanna know more

Situation: I have a car that is scratched and needs to be taken to a repair shop. The problem is that my mom is currently unable to drive it and I don't know how. So I need some help finding a good designated driver service with reasonable rates to drive our car to the repair shop. Any help would be appreciated, thanks everyone :)

Hi everyone, I’m looking to buy an NFC tag (tag that you can tap on a phone and directs people to payment or social media info) and was hoping to get it from someone local. Does anyone make them or know someone who does?

Thanks!

I need to have an elective c section for my second. Should I aim for SMH or peace arch?

I plan to have a midwife. Considering Queen mary or Semiahmoo.

Thoughts?

I recently bought a property in Surrey that needs some work. The only vehicle access is through an alley behind the property.
At the entrance to the alley there's a small parking area between the alley opening and a neighbouring driveway. Two vehicles routinely park there and partially block the alley entrance by about 3-4 feet. While they don't completely block access, they make it difficult and unsafe to back my truck and trailer into the alley.
I've contacted Surrey Bylaw multiple times. In a few cases the vehicles received tickets, but most of the time an officer doesn't attend until the following day, often around 11 a.m. when the vehicles are gone and everyone is at work. Lately, when I call for follow-up, I'm told there are no open tickets on file, even though the same vehicles can sit there for 3-4 days at a time without moving.
I've also spoken with the neighbours and they've said the vehicles don't belong to them.
At this point, I'm wondering what my options are. Has anyone dealt with something similar in Surrey? Is there a more effective way to get enforcement action, am I just having bad luck with response times or is this just how it is in Surrey?

What has been your best experience? Any particular teacher that gave you the best training?

Hey guys

Ive had good experiences with a naturopath for minor gut health-related stuff in my last city - looking for a good one here

Thanks in advance