The incumbent Okotoks trustee for the Foothills School Division is seeking re-election despite being on leave for nearly a year.
At least for now.
Laurie Copland was one of nine potential candidates who submitted nominations papers at the Foothills School Division office in High River on Monday for the two Okotoks trustee seats in the Oct. 17 election.
Copland, who was first elected in 2004, had charges of theft and fraud over $5,000 stayed in June. The charges came from her work with Calgary Winter Lacrosse and had nothing to do with her work as a trustee. She has been on leave since October.
Despite the stay, Copland said there are people who will hold it against her.
“Yes,” she said when asked if the criminal charges will hurt her. “[But] I have been part of Foothills School Division since my kids were in Grade 1. I have always put kids first in everything I think about and everything I do…
“People can think what they want about me but please know I am here to make a difference for our kids.”
She also has some unfinished business with the division.
“There are lots of that needs to be done,” Copland said. “I want to watch the new school be built and the Foothills Composite get finished. I also want to talk about these school fees and understand them a lot better… Let’s make our parents happy.”
Her campaign may be short-lived. Copland is contemplating removing her name from the list of nominees by the deadline of noon tomorrow.
For the first-time in Foothills School Division history there will be two trustees for Okotoks as its population represents about 41 per cent of the division’s geographical area.
Other candidates who have put their names forward for the two Okotoks seats include, Wayne Meihle, Corrine Babb, Mary Daunt, former Highwood High School principal Larry Albrecht, Sharon Nichols, Cindy Krebs, Jerry Clark and Claire Comtois.
In other wards, Jeannine Tucker will seek re-election Ward 1, the Longview to Turner Valley corridor. Heather Pfeil will run against Tucker.
There is a six-person battle for the trusteeship in Ward 2, which consists of the Davisburg-Blackie-Cayley area. They are Yvonne Sherman, Toby Kliem, Bill Young, Martha Klassen, Vivienne Nicol and Jaimie Chouhan. Young, a Cayley resident, is a long-time wrestling coach and a former teacher at Highwood High.
They will replace trustee and vice-chairman Michael Pollard who died in July.
In the Red Deer Lake–Millarville area, Ward 3, where division chairwoman Christine Pretty is stepping down after two terms, Theresa Letendre is in by acclamation.
High River incumbent Doug Gardner will face opposition from two people. They are Jennifer Kristiansen and former Turner Valley School principal Rob Bennington.
The election is Oct. 16. Nominees have until noon on Sept. 19 to withdraw their names from the ballot.
