A bevy of political seats stand to be filled on Oct. 20, and two politicians want women to fill them, including themselves.
Lori Pratt, Board of Education chair for School District No. 46, and Darnelda Siegers, District of Sechelt councillor, have both announced they will be running in the upcoming local elections, and to encourage other women to follow suit they are running a “campaign school” on March 3, which teaches women the ins-and-outs of local politics and governance.
This week Pratt told Coast Reporter she would be seeking the Halfmoon Bay director seat in the Sunshine Coast Regional District (SCRD) and Siegers announced in 2016 that she would run for mayor of Sechelt.
“After the 2014 election, there were hardly any women elected to councils or boards across the Coast, which was really disheartening – not having a lot of women even run,” said Pratt, explaining why she is organizing the event with Siegers.
Siegers acknowledged mentoring women also means encouraging competition. “That’s totally OK – the more the merrier.”
Sessions will cover the Local Government Act and nomination process, as well as campaigning, media relations and fundraising. Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, MP for West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky, will share her personal experience.
Currently, there are no women on the SCRD board, five out of seven Sechelt council members are men, and four of the five Gibsons council members are men. Shíshálh Nation council has achieved gender parity among councillors, while six out of eight SD46 board members are women.
Siegers served on the SCRD board for six months and said directors noticed her absence, adding she has long fought for women’s issues on Sechelt council.
Pratt has been elected as a school trustee three times, and twice ran unopposed. “It’s comforting but at the same time, is anybody paying attention? We want good people to run. We want that. It brings out the best in everyone.”
As politicians seeking office, they acknowledge the school also affords networking opportunities. “It is about doing some good and bringing people in, and it is about networking and finding out more about what’s going on around us,” Pratt said. “All of our presenters are local and they are all supportive of other women running. It’s bringing each other up at the same time.”
Siegers said she has experienced sexism first hand as a politician, especially on social media. And both acknowledge having received some pushback against the school for focusing solely on women.
“My response to that person was… I’d love to just have a campaign school, but when we’re in a situation locally where we are nowhere near gender parity on any of our elected boards except for the school district and the Sechelt Indian Band, we’ve got a lot of work to do to make something happen,” Pratt said.
Cost to attend is $15, registration is available at this link or by contacting Siegers at: dsiegers@telus.net or Pratt at loripratt75@gmail.com
