“I want to congratulate every CUPE member who made the courageous decision to put their name forward in the local elections,” said CUPE BC President Paul Faoro. “While not all were successful, the fact that so many current and retired members ran for office speaks to the value our union has put on political action, and the growing importance of local governments.”
More than 20 current or former CUPE members were elected to councils or school boards in Saturday’s local elections, while a record number of current or former members stood for election.
Current or former CUPE members elected
Current members
| City of Langley Council: | Paul Albrecht (Local 403) |
| School District #35 (Township of Langley) Trustee: | Marnie Wilson (Local 1260) |
| City of New Westminster School District #40 Trustee: | Dee Beattie (Local 728) |
| School District #33 (Chilliwack): | Dan Coulter (Local 3787) |
| School District #71 (Area B): | Michelle Waite (Local 3479) |
| City of Victoria Council: | Laurel Collins (Local 4163) |
| School District #61 (Victoria): | Ryan Painter (Local 1767) |
| School District #68 (Nanaimo Ladysmith): | Greg Keller (Local 401) |
| Salmon Arm Council: | Sylvia Lindgren (Local 523) |
| School District #22 (Vernon): | Mark Olsen (Local 5523) |
| City of Castlegar Council: | Cherryl McLeod (Local 1285) |
| Ladysmith Council: | Jeff Virtanen (Local 606) |
| Village Council of Lytton: | Gordon Murray (Local 1004) |
| Esquimalt Council: | Tim Morrison (Local 1767) |
| Mission Council: | Danny Plecas (Local 593) |
| Powell River Council: | Rob Southcott (Local 873) |
| City of Surrey Council: | Doug Elford (Local 15) |
| Courtenay Council: | Melanie McCollum (Local 3479) |
| School District 42 Trustee: | Pascale Shaw (CUPE 703) |
Former/retired members
| City of Vancouver Mayor: | Kennedy Stewart (former member Local 15) |
| City of Vancouver Council: | Michael Wiebe (former member Locals 1004 & 15) |
| City of Burnaby Council: | Colleen Jordan (Local 379, retired) |
| District of Houston Council: | Tom Stringfellow (Local 873, retired) |
| School District #41 (Burnaby): | Ryan Stewart (former Local 3787 member) |
| City of Maple Ridge Council: | Kiersten Duncan (former member Local 498) |
| School District #43 (Coquitlam) Trustee: | Christine Pollock (Local 561, retired) |
| School District #36 (Surrey) Trustee: | Terry Allen (Local 379, retired) |
| Laurie Larsen (Local 402, retired) | |
| City of Castlegar Mayor: | Bruno Tassome (Local 2262, retired) |
| Vancouver Park Board Commissioner: | Camil Dumont (Local 1004) |
