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Student vote sees different results in Oak Bay

Monterey middle and Glenlyon Norfolk School students cast votes
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Monterey Middle School hosted a poll site during the official 2022 municipal election, while students cast a vote ahead of time in the Student Vote. (Black Press Media file photo)

Two Oak Bay schools participated in the mock Student Vote during the 2022 municipal elections – Monterey Middle School and Glenlyon Norfolk School on Beach Drive.

Students selected six councillors, as Mayor Kevin Murdoch ran unopposed, and the results were a little different than the adult electorate.

The youth vote, consisting of 262 students in the two schools, elected incumbent Andrew Appleton (44 votes), Carrie Smart (42), incumbent Hazel Braithwaite (36), incumbent Cairine Green (28), Lesley Watson (28) and Raymon Farmere (26).

Roxanne Helme (25) and incumbents Eric Wood Zhelka (23) and Esther Paterson (10) did not make the cut in the kids’ vote.

Zhelka also did not make the cut in the adult vote, but Paterson does return to the table, alongside Appleton, Braithwaite, Green, Smart and Watson for council’s inaugural meeting Nov. 7 at municipal hall, 2167 Oak Bay Ave.

RELATED: Oak Bay chooses 2 new faces for council

Monterey students also voted for school trustees in the Greater Victoria School District (SD61). GNS is an independent school and not part of SD61.

A dozen area schools had students vote for SD61 trustees, and the votes saw Cindy Bedi Ralph, Emily Mahbobi, Esther Callo, Jennifer Foster, Judith Zulu, Matthew Cook, Natalie Baillaut, Nicole Duncan and Sacha Christensen voted in.

In the actual election, Karin Kwan led the way with 20,230 votes, joining fellow newcomers Angela Carmichael (19,565), Mavis David (18,089), Natalie Baillaut (18,075), Emily Mahobi (16,448) and Derek Gagnon (16,437) along with incumbents Nicole Duncan (19,678), Robert Paynter (18,523) and Diane McNally (18,496).

The student vote is a CIVIX program run during federal, provincial, territorial and local elections across Canada since 2003. The organization provides lessons designed for Grades 4 to 8. This election, 52,591 students participated in Student Vote provincewide, representing 435 schools from 97 municipalities and regional districts.

Learn more about the student vote at studentvote.ca/bclocal2022.

RELATED: SD61 elects six new trustees, three incumbents


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