Elected school trustee of Richmond on October 17, 2026, with 16,475 votes, fifth of 28 trustee candidates. A newcomer who ran with Advance Richmond on public delegations at board and committee meetings, published data on substance use, bullying and violence in schools, first place in BC in literacy, math and graduation rates, and adequate funding.
Dean Billings was elected to the Richmond Board of Education on October 17, 2026, with 16,475 votes in the City's official count, declared on October 21, 2026, fifth of 28 candidates for the seven seats. The City's declaration of election by voting prints Advance Richmond as his elector organization; Richmond News called him and Danny Chang the organization's newcomers on the board. He ran for trustee as an independent in 2022 and had 7,331 votes, fourteenth of 15, Richmond News reported. In the statement he gave the City he promised to allow public delegations on agenda items and at committee meetings, to open board advisory committees to the public, to publish data on substance use, racism, bullying, class evacuations and violence against staff, to evaluate changes, pilots and vendors in a systematic way, to aim for first place in BC in literacy, math and graduation rates, and to advocate for adequate funding. In the Richmond News questionnaire he answered yes to more basics, trades training, drug awareness and a cellphone ban, and proposed a public list of complaints about school resources, open meetings in place of the diversity, SOGI and Indigenous committees, and two new committees for diverse learners. The Richmond District Parents Association's minutes of May 6, 2025 record him acclaimed as its secretary; by his own account he has also been its president. Richmond News reported on October 19, 2026 that he said collaboration would be a priority in his new role.
Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page
Tracked since October 18, 2026. Every change of status links to the vote, motion or report behind it.
In the statement he gave the City he promised to allow delegations from the public on agenda items and at public committee meetings, and to open the Indigenous and other board advisory committees to the public. His post of October 2, 2026 on his organization's site says the two-week deadline for delegation requests should go, and its post of September 25 says committees that do not meet the test for a closed meeting should be open. In the Richmond News questionnaire he proposed collapsing the diversity, SOGI and Indigenous committees into public meetings, and letting the public delegate on the track meet at a committee meeting.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean Billings (opens in a new tab), Advance Richmond · community update of October 2, 2026, by Dean Billings, on the two-week delegation rule (opens in a new tab), Advance Richmond · community update of September 25, 2026, on public input at board and committee meetings (opens in a new tab), Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab).
In the statement he gave the City he promised to publish data on substance use on school grounds, racism, bullying, class evacuations and violence against staff, to move beyond ad hoc opinion surveys, and to evaluate changes, pilots and outside vendors in a systematic way. His post of September 21, 2026 asks for the same openness on violence, classroom clearings, drug use, bullying and racism. In the Richmond News questionnaire he wrote that programs should target data on actual issues in Richmond.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean Billings (opens in a new tab), Advance Richmond · community update of September 21, 2026, by Dean Billings, on violence data in schools (opens in a new tab), Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab).
In the statement he gave the City he set the goal of first place in BC in literacy scores, math scores and graduation rates. It names no measure and no date.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean Billings (opens in a new tab).
In the statement he gave the City he promised to advocate for adequate funding. It names no amount.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean Billings (opens in a new tab).
In the Richmond News questionnaire he proposed that the process to submit requests to review resources, for example complaints about books, be public by default.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab).
In the Richmond News questionnaire he wrote that the board relies too much on consultants and proposed addressing gaps in the procurement and evaluation of external consultants. His statement to the City promises systematic evaluation of outside vendors.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab), City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean Billings (opens in a new tab).
In the Richmond News questionnaire he proposed a new Diverse Learners PAC committee to build shared understanding of what families face, and a Diverse Learners Advisory Committee to review the district's performance for students with individual education plans. His organization's post of October 3, 2026 repeats the proposal.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab), Advance Richmond · community update of October 3, 2026, on gifted and diverse learners (opens in a new tab).
In the Richmond News questionnaire he proposed re-engaging with the private sector for fundraising on specific topics and assessing the feasibility of mini schools that permit some specialization.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab).
In the Richmond News questionnaire he answered yes to banning cellphones in Richmond schools.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab).
In the Richmond News questionnaire he answered yes to teaching drug awareness in high school.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab).
In the Richmond News questionnaire he answered yes to schools teaching more basics such as reading and math, and yes to a curriculum with more focus on trades training.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026 (opens in a new tab).
Advance Richmond's school platform, which the statements of Dean Billings and Danny Chang to the City describe as the statements of all its trustee candidates, promises to establish a Richmond Business Community Advisory Committee, to expand fundraising opportunities and to make school facilities easier for community organizations to rent.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Danny Chang (opens in a new tab).
Advance Richmond's school platform, which the statements of Dean Billings and Danny Chang to the City describe as the statements of all its trustee candidates, promises to expand co-op programs, internships, job shadowing, business field trips and volunteer opportunities that give practical work experience.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Danny Chang (opens in a new tab).
Advance Richmond's school platform, which the statements of Dean Billings and Danny Chang to the City describe as the statements of all its trustee candidates, promises to strengthen employable skills and preparation for an AI-driven economy, and to improve collaboration with the City and the provincial government.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Danny Chang (opens in a new tab).
Advance Richmond's school platform, which the statements of Dean Billings and Danny Chang to the City describe as the statements of all its trustee candidates, promises to foster a safe and inclusive learning environment in schools, to develop students' life skills to improve their well-being and to enhance students' voice, from Rod Belleza's statement to the City.
No vote or decision on this promise yet.
Where the promise was made: City of Richmond · candidate profile, Rod Belleza (opens in a new tab).
Dean Billings was elected to the Richmond Board of Education on October 17, 2026. The City's official count gives him 16,475 votes, fifth of 28 candidates for the seven seats, 298 behind his colleague Danny Chang. The City's declaration of election by voting of September 21, 2026 prints Advance Richmond as his elector organization, and the organization's post of October 18, 2026 counts him among its six candidates elected. Richmond News reported on October 18 that he and Chang were the organization's newcomers on the board.
Richmond News reported on October 19, 2026 that he said on election night he had not planned on a win, that in his speech he said the sitting trustees had been on the board a long time and were used to driving the agenda as they saw fit, and that he was eager to see change. In an interview afterwards he said collaboration would be a priority, that transparency and including different voices had connected with people during the campaign, and that the board is a large and complex organization where there would be challenges.
He ran for trustee in 2022 as an independent and had 7,331 votes, fourteenth of 15 candidates, Richmond News reported. In his 2022 answers to the Richmond Sentinel he called the education system's role in gender affirming care his top issue and said Richmond should become a leading district for science, technology, engineering and math. Richmond News reported from the Richmond Teachers' Association meeting of October 2022 that he supported parts of the district's sexual orientation and gender identity policy, such as anti-bullying, wanted changes on gender affirming care, and wanted the district to report how many students were socially transitioning; the district's spokesperson said schools do not deal with medical matters of transitioning and refer families to a doctor. His 2022 campaign site, deanbillings.ca, no longer answers.
In 2026 his statement to the City and his organization's posts set out his case on board governance: public delegations on agenda items and at committee meetings, open advisory committees, an end to the two-week deadline for delegation requests, published data on violence, class evacuations, drug use, bullying and racism, systematic evaluation of changes, pilots and outside vendors, first place in BC in literacy, math and graduation rates, and adequate funding. In the Richmond News questionnaire of October 2026 he answered yes to teaching more basics, more trades training, drug awareness in high school and a cellphone ban, wrote that the board majority focuses too much on political education and relies too much on consultants, and proposed a public process for complaints about resources, open meetings in place of the diversity, SOGI and Indigenous committees, a diverse learners parent committee and advisory committee, private fundraising on specific topics and a study of mini schools. He gave no answer on the SOGI policies. The Richmond District Parents Association's minutes of its annual general meeting of May 6, 2025 record him acclaimed as secretary. By his own account, in the statement he gave the City and on his organization's page, he has also been the association's president, coaches and sits on the board of the Richmond Lacrosse Association, holds a bachelor's and a master's degree in business administration, and has 19 years of experience as a software consultant in public sector organizations. voche.me has not checked the presidency, the lacrosse roles or the degrees with the association, the club or the universities.
Summarized from the campaign’s published profile. These are stated positions, not an assessment of results or a complete platform.
In the statement he gave the City he promised to allow delegations from the public on agenda items and at public committee meetings, and to open the Indigenous and other board advisory committees to the public. His post of October 2, 2026 on his organization's site says the two-week deadline for delegation requests should go.
City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean BillingsHis statement to the City promises to publish data on substance use on school grounds, racism, bullying, class evacuations and violence against staff, to move beyond ad hoc opinion surveys, and to evaluate changes, pilots and outside vendors in a systematic way. His post of September 21, 2026 asks for the same openness on violence in schools. In the Richmond News questionnaire he proposed that requests to review resources be public by default and that the diversity, SOGI and Indigenous committees be collapsed into public meetings.
City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean BillingsHis statement to the City sets the goal of first place in BC in literacy scores, math scores and graduation rates. It names no measure and no date.
City of Richmond · candidate profile, Dean BillingsHis statement to the City promises to advocate for adequate funding. In the Richmond News questionnaire he proposed a Diverse Learners PAC committee, a Diverse Learners Advisory Committee to review the district's performance for students with individual education plans, private sector fundraising on specific topics and a study of mini schools, and his organization's post of October 3, 2026 repeats those proposals.
Richmond News · Richmond BC Votes: School trustee candidate Dean Billings, questionnaire, October 2026Researched on 2026-10-30 through the seven search steps listed below: the City's candidate profile, results and declarations, Advance Richmond's home page, its 2026 candidates page, his page there, its September and October 2026 posts and its results post, his 2026 and 2022 VoteMate pages, Richmond News reports of 2022 and of the 2026 campaign and result, his answers to the Richmond News questionnaire of October 2026, the Richmond Sentinel's 2022 questionnaire, and the Richmond District Parents Association's minutes of May 6, 2025.
His account of his degrees, his work and his lacrosse roles comes from his statement to the City and his organization's page and was not checked with any other body; his secretary role at the parents association rests on its own minutes. His City profile lists Facebook (deanbillingsrichmond), Instagram (deanbillingscan) and X (deanbillingscan) accounts; each showed a login page to scripts, so no post was read, and his organization's posts by him were read as republished on its site. His 2022 campaign site, deanbillings.ca, no longer answers. The Richmond News questionnaire carries his own 2026 answers; the paper's search pages refuse scripts, so it was found by web search. No report of a 2026 trustee debate quoting him was found. He held no public office before the vote, so there is no record of votes to read.
The association's minutes of its annual general meeting of May 6, 2025 record him acclaimed as secretary. His statement to the City says he has also been its president; voche.me found no record of that election.
Richmond District Parents Association · Meeting minutes of May 6, 2025, with the annual general meeting resultsProposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No questions and answers have been supplied.
Ask Dean Billings directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
Facts voche.me can state about Dean Billings's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Dean Billings was elected School Trustee with 16,475 votes, 5th of 28 in the official count. The City of Richmond published the count, and every candidate's total is on the results page.
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Dean Billings's own campaign.
Dean Billings ran for School Trustee with Advance Richmond.
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Dean Billings.
This profile lists 30 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Dean Billings in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
The 2026 Richmond municipal election, including the School Trustee race, was decided on October 17, 2026.
Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added.
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