On the first day of advance voting, School District 27 (SD 27) announced its byelection to replace the Zone 4 trustee was cancelled due to procedural errors.
Voters were already arriving at the polling station in Williams Lake on Tuesday, Feb. 25 when Cheryl Lenardon, the district’s superintendent, told Efteen a ministerial order had been issued that morning which cancelled the byelection and ordered the district run a new byelection.
Black Press has since reviewed letters between the Ministry of Education and Child Care (MECC) and the district leading up to the abrupt end which identify two main issues with the byelection. The time the election was scheduled, as well as the failure to obtain a list of eligible voters, was in conflict with the Local Government Act and the School Act, meaning the board could not lawfully proceed with the byelection.
The below timeline of events, with information pulled from communications between the ministry and district, provides a picture of what took place.
On Nov. 30, 2024, Ciel Patenaude resigned from her role as trustee for Zone 4. While the board's current term ends in November 2026, the B.C. School Act requires a byelection be held to fill any position on a board which becomes vacant before Jan. 1 of the year a general election will take place.
The byelection process was thus set into motion, with the board adopting the election bylaw, B2707-1, at its Dec. 16 public meeting. The board also appointed Judy Felker as the chief election officer (CEO) for the byelection during this meeting. Felker has previous experience running elections at both a local and provincial level and the district’s secretary treasurer Brenda Hooker recommended her to the board.
As the secretary treasurer, Hooker was the designated local government officer for the byelection, and Felker worked under Hooker’s supervision. However, Hooker suffered an injury and has been absent from work since Dec. 18.
The first issue arises with the scheduling of the election day. According to the Local Government Act, the CEO is required to schedule a general voting day to be held within 80 days of their appointment. The last day to lawfully hold the byelection was thus March 1, 2025, but it was scheduled for March 8.
Meanwhile, it was Hooker’s task to acquire and make available the provincial list of voters at least 52 days before the election day which, for reasons not entirely clear, she did not do. The board and superintendent were only aware of this after the 52-day time limit had passed, and the board’s election bylaw does not provide the option for an alternative means of registering voters, for instance, by having all voters register at the polls.
“The superintendent did not become aware of irregularities in relation to the election process until February 7, 2025,” wrote the board’s Chair Angie Delainey in a Feb. 21 letter to Lisa Beare, minister of MECC.
The letter laid out this series of events to explain why the byelection could not be lawfully held before then requesting the minister urgently issue an order to cancel the byelection.
“It is beyond doubt that the board is not currently in a position to hold a lawful by-election,” wrote Delainey. “The board is committed to taking the appropriate internal steps to ensure that the errors committed in respect of this election process are not repeated in the future. The board recognizes the responsibility for this error lies with it and with the failure of its designated official to appropriately ensure compliance with its responsibilities.”
MECC told Black Press it reviewed legal considerations before then agreeing the circumstances warranted a cancellation. Beare then notified the board that on Feb. 25 she signed the order cancelling the byelection.
Felker’s appointment as CEO was rescinded, and the minister marked Feb. 25 as the first day of 30 within which the board must appoint a new CEO.
“(I) understand that the board will be taking measures to ensure that the numerous procedural errors related to the attempted by-election are not repeated in future,” Beare wrote.
MECC also told Black Press the ministry regularly issues ministerial orders in response to school districts making procedural errors in their elections.
Lenardon told Black Press a bylaw would be written and approved following the CEO’s appointment to ensure a list of voters would be properly acquired or to allow voter registration at the polls.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly noted the board of education's current term ends in the fall of 2025 when it in fact ends in November 2026.
