Board of education candidates an impressive group

There was a pretty good turnout to the school trustees’ candidates’ forum at St. Andrew’s on the Square last night, but it wasn’t nearly enough. School board elections just don’t attract the same kind of attention as City council does, yet the trustees do such important work.

I was totally impressed by the candidates who attended. All were well-spoken, and while the incumbents enjoyed the slight advantage of being more familiar with the issues, they didn’t outshine the newbies by much.

A few highlights from the evening:

– The teachers’ job action, budget and programs predictably dominated the questions, but there was an excellent range of discussion.

– I learned how to pronounce Acacia Schmietenknop.

– Incumbent Annette Glover and former trustee Meghan Wade spoke too often and too long — they’ve gotta learn to make their point more quickly, and I, as moderator, have gotta learn how to control them.

– Tanya Orozco, incumbent Gerald Watson and incumbent Kathleen Karpuk were especially articulate. Watson is a straight shooter and I like that.

– Adrian Miller, in the news the past week or so for previous incidents involving the law, didn’t show, though he assured us he’d be there to answer anything that was thrown at him.

– Logan Lake candidates Cara McKelvey and Melvin Thistlethwaite took the trouble to attend even though they weren’t likely to garner many votes from the all-Kamloops crowd. McKelvey speaks knowledgeably and well.

– former board chair Ken Christian attended as a spectator, and so did council candidate Andy Philpott. Good for them.

Do your best in voting for school board but remember, you don’t need to vote for a complete slate if you can’t figure out who to support.