Young school trustees-elect say they have experience to make public education better

Two school trustee candidates stood out in B.C.'s municipal elections on Oct. 15 by being among a very small group of people running for the first time, while under the age of 30.

Gabe Liosis, 21, who has worked as an assistant with local MLA Lisa Beare, was the only non-incumbent candidate winning a seat in Electoral Area 1 of the Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school board (SD 42).

Jo Kang, 24, who has worked as a service co-ordinator with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, was one of the two candidates with no prior political experience to be elected as a school trustee of the Kamloops-Thompson School District (SD 73).

As a political novice, Liosis said he was surprised by his own victory, but as someone who graduated from a local high school not long ago, he feels that he's in a better position than incumbent trustees to improve public education in Maple Ridge.

"I was in student council and particularly in my more senior years, I was really active in advocating on behalf of my community," he told host Stephen Quinn on CBC's The Early Edition.

"There was a really strong appetite for change in Maple Ridge," he said. "We've had a mayor and council for the last four years who have been more focused on fighting with each other, opposing senior levels of government, and taking legal action against each other, rather than actually advocating on behalf of their constituents and the community."

Prior to running for school trustee, Liosis was the student union president of Simon Fraser University, overseeing a budget of $12 million and managing more than 50 people.

Kang was a community service officer with the City of Kamloops before working with the Thompson-Nicola Regional District. He earned a police and justice studies diploma at Thompson Rivers University, after graduating from NorKam Senior Secondary School.

As a kid who didn't get good grades and hung out with the wrong crowds, Kang said he has experience that many older incumbent trustees don't have and that could help inform how public schools in Kamloops should change.

"Incumbents that are sitting on the current school board do have children in the system, but I think my perspective is real-life experience within the last decade," he said.

Kang said he'd been thinking of running as a school trustee for years. He wants to organize a summit with representatives from the school district, city council and the province to discuss how to ensure better funding for public schools in Kamloops.