Chilliwack – He is the co-founder of Cycle Chilliwack and is the campaign manager for the Mayoralty run for Sam Waddington. Now David Swankey has thrown his hat in the ring as the latest candidate for Chilliwack School Trustee.
Swankey has a background in political science, an interest that has helped inform his community involvement since moving to Chilliwack with his wife in 2014. A member of the Transportation Advisory Committee since 2015, he used that position to help inform the establishment of Cycle Chilliwack, a cycling advocacy group that has been active over the past year.
Swankey also helped in the formation and execution of Chilliwack Votes during the 2015 federal election, “aiming to inspire and engage, both constituents and candidates, in a dialogue that speaks to the issues of Chilliwack – Hope”.
What I see today is a school district struggling to meet the needs of it’s families and a school board ill equipped to address this need. The public school system across the province is stretched thin, but our circumstance in Chilliwack seems especially dire; Chilliwack School District currently has 93 portables and our rate of growth shows no sign of slowing down. Lack of appropriate infrastructure is one part of our problem but it’s also a failure to consult and empower parents to have a more active role in their child’s education and an inability to maintain good working relationships with the employees of the district. The desire for renewed relationships with our partners in learning, a desire I hear in every catchment area and at every school board meeting, has informed my decision to run for the Chilliwack School Board and to seek your support today.
As an advocate for universal and inclusive education, I want a school board that will deliver more. We need teachers and support staff better equipped and not just told to do more with less. We need adequate classroom space, in the form of new schools and additions or upgrades to existing schools. We need a district where every child is better equipped to succeed. And so I’m asking you to support me as your advocate on the Chilliwack School Board by voting for David Swankey on October 20th.
FVN has reached out to David Swankey to comment on what may be perceived as a conflict of interest with the Waddington campaign as well as his own.
Swankey does not feel there is a conflict stating: “I have taken on the role of managing Waddington’s campaign but I’m also maintaining and building good relations with every candidate for municipal office this fall. If elected, I’ll be working with whomever the voting public decide will best serve our community.The position I seek is to serve on the Board of Education for the Chilliwack School District, a distinctly different elected body from Mayor and Council. In short, I do not perceive a conflict between my role as School Trustee Candidate, and campaign manager”
Swankey’s full platform can be found at www.davidswankey.com
