Two candidates with teaching backgrounds enter North Cowichan byelection race
Two candidates with teaching backgrounds— Joanna Lord and David Bellis — have put their names forward for the April byelection in North Cowichan, according to nomination papers.
Lord grew up in North Cowichan and has a background as a teacher and unionist, and helped in the campaign that elected Debra Toporowski as MLA for Cowichan Valley last October.
Lord told sixmountains.ca she considers herself a “progressive” in terms of municipal politics. “I’m not just going forward as an NDPer. I know I have a lot of supporters who aren’t necessarily on that same spectrum, but are on the green side of things.”
If elected, she said she will defend the Official Community Plan, which council approved in 2022 and which address issues such as the “need for attainable housing which includes a diverse housing mix and affordability.”
Lord supports regeneration and protection of the natural environment and food security and maintaining local agricultural systems.
She added that a local regenerative economy would "support local business and living wages so workers and communities can thrive. This means promoting local businesses with a shop local approach.”
David Bellis served 37 years as a teacher and administrator with the Cowichan Valley School District, including a decade running the adult learning centre. “I have lots of time to devote,” says the retiree. “I thought it’s time to give back in a different kind of way.”
Bellis says he would play a centrist role on a “fairly polarized” North Cowichan council.
“Looking at the board that exists right now, I’d say I’m somewhere smack in the middle. I’m absolutely for development as long as it’s thoughtful, and carefully carried out.
“I’ve looked at the Official Community Plan and a tremendous amount of energy and time and work has gone into it. I don’t want to see it get blown out of the water without a lot of careful thought.”
Bellis said he supports: affordable housing; small businesses, "the backbone of the community and country;” and addressing the drug and homeless issue. "I have become a firm believer in judiciously employed mandatory rehabilitation for those no longer able to make rational decisions about their well-being.”
In retirement, Bellis has been delivering groceries part-time for Save-On-Foods. “It’s actually one of the reasons I decided to throw my hat in the ring. The delivering of groceries has been quite an eye opener as far as the plight of many of our older senior citizens, especially, on fixed incomes and in pretty dire straits.”
According to Lord’s bio posted on an NDP website:
“Joanna has served on the federal Cowichan-Malahat-Langford NDP executive as Member-at-Large, Vice President, and multiple terms as President.
“She is a proud union member and holds an elected Component Vice President position within her union, the BC General Employees’ Union. Joanna works as an Adult Basic Education Instructor at Vancouver Island University’s Cowichan Campus.”
The nomination period started on Tuesday and ends March 7. The byelection to replace Toporoskwi will be held April 12 (with advance voting April 2 and April 8) at an estimated cost of $121,000.
A candidate representing right-of-centre views has not yet emerged.
(Photos: submitted by candidates).
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