Vote 2026: Chilliwack School Board election candidate list finalized with 18 names on October 17 ballot
Largest field chasing seven seats since 2011
September 11, 2026
The deadline has passed, Chilliwack voters now know who will be on the ballot for the next board of trustees for School District 33.
The 18 candidates running for seven school board trustee seats are diverse bunch when it comes to ages, life and employment, as well as with their experience in or around local government.
Among the seven trustees from the last election, just three are running for re-election: Willow Reichelt, Margaret Reid and David Swankey. Of that board elected in 2022, Carin Bondar, Richard Procee and Teri Westerby are not running, nor is Laurie Throness who was elected to the board in March 2025 in a byelection after long-time trustee Heather Maahs stepped down becoming MLA for Chilliwack North. Throness, however, lasted barely a year on the job, quitting in early 2026 after the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal rendered a $750,000 penalty against former trustee Barry Neufeld for his ongoing public campaign of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Because he resigned in an election year, no byelection was held to replace Throness.
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Who is running for school board?
Eighteen candidates is the largest field chasing those seven seats since 2011 when there was a huge list of 24. The average number of candidates over the previous eight elections dating back to 1999 was 14. Here’s a last-name alphabetical brief overview of incumbents and newcomers who are on the official electoral list released by , with links to their websites if available. Below this is a link to the city council version of this story.
Katie Bartel is a parent to three teenage daughters, a long-time Chilliwack District Parent Advisory Council chair and advocate for diversity, special education and inclusive education. Bartel lost to Throness in the 2025 byelection called after Heather Maahs stepped down. Her website is katiebartel.com
Barbara Bednarski a retired elementary school teacher who describes her teaching experience in Northern Ontario as from “the 20th century.” She is one of the five candidates on a slate calling themselves Trustees for Change. Their website is Trustees for Change
Brook Bouwsema-Cardinal describes herself as a former youth in care, growing up Two-Spirit as a youth in care, learning from her Cree, Dutch and inter-Indigenous teachings that taught her that learning can happen anywhere. Her website is brookefortrustee.com
Michael Carter is a lawyer who lives in Yarrow with his wife and four children. Carter was lead counsel for the Universal Ostrich Farm in Edgewood where an avian flu outbreak hit and the farm fought the cull. He’s also with Trustees for Change
Marina Garman spent 20 years working in group homes with school-aged youth, many with diverse emotional and behavioural challenges. She’s a parent whose youngest son is in the Chilliwack public school system. She's also with Trustees for Change
Hugh Hamilton is an executive coach involved in corporate leadership development. He also worked in some interesting roles inside the Vancouver Whitecaps organization. Another with Trustees for Change
Paul Henderson... what the what? Yes, I know this is unusual but at the very last minute (2 p.m. today) I decided that I have the experience, knowledge and smarts to do the job as well as anyone, so I put in my papers. Yes, I'm on this list, and I'll do my best now that the list is out there to minimize writing about the election. Opinion are always my own. As for my website, you're on it. I have no campaign page yet but since I decided to run two hours before the deadline, it's coming.
Sadie Hesketh is a mother of a school-aged child, a local radio producer and was an on-air personality. Her campaign Facebook page is Sadie for Trustee
Leah Kelley is a parent, an author and has a doctorate in education. She has taught at all levels for 30 years and has expertise in inclusive education and neurodiversity. Her website is leahmkelley.com
Christine Kruger is a mother and a candidate for the Chilliwack School Board. Her Facebook page is Christine Kruger
Sudakar Meganathan says he has more than 20 years of management and leadership experience. His website is sudakarmeganathan.com
Cary Moore is a realtor who says he is Métis, a resident of Chilliwack for 40 years, and has raised 64 foster children. He also got into hot water already in this election for Islamophobic statements that got him removed from the Chilliwack DPAC executive. He’s the fifth member of the Trustees for Change
Darren Ollinger ran in the 2022 local election for school board trustee finishing 15th out of 15 candidates.
Hayden Rampton is another new last-minute addition to the list. There isn't much information out there about him, but the Mission City Outlaws of the PJHL are announced his commitment to play for the team in the upcoming hockey season. According to the Outlaws, he was born in 2008, 6'0" tall weights 185 pounds when he played on the Chilliwack U18 A1 last season.
Willow Reichelt has been a Chilliwack School Board trustee for two terms. For five of those eight years, she was the chair or vice-chair. She grew up attending school in Chilliwack and worked as a teacher on call for 14 years. She is married with two sons. Her Facebook campaign page is TrusteeWillowReichelt
Margaret Reid is an incumbent trustee first elected to the Chilliwack School Board in 2022. She was most recently vice-chair of the board. She is a parent of a child in the Chilliwack school district, has been her child’s school’s DPAC rep and has been involved with Chilliwack Pride and Chilliwack Citizens for Change. Her website did not appear to be working as of Sept. 3, but her Facebook campaign is MargaretForTrustee
David Swankey was elected to the Chilliwack School Board in 2022 and most recently served as board chair. He is married with two school-aged children. He is heavily involved in education prior to school board involved with DPAC, the BC School Trustee Association, and he is vice-chair of the Fraser Valley Child Development Centre and sits on the board of directors for Down syndrome BC. His website is davidswankey.com
Brian Vangarderen ran for school trustee in the 2022 election finshing in eighth out of seven candidates, just 47 votes behind Richard Procee.
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