[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":300},["ShallowReactive",2],{"news-list":3,"article-\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-board-of-education-byelection-garry-thind-mla":139,"article-people-\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-board-of-education-byelection-garry-thind-mla":279},[4,22,34,45,58,70,81,92,104,117,129],{"path":5,"title":6,"description":7,"date":8,"publishedAt":9,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":12,"image":17,"imageAlt":18,"imageCredit":19,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-board-of-education-byelection-garry-thind-mla","Surrey Board of Education faces possible $840,000 byelection after trustee wins provincial seat","Garry Thind was elected both a Surrey school trustee on October 17 and an MLA on October 24. Once sworn in as MLA, he will be disqualified as a trustee, and a court may decide whether to hold a $840,000 byelection or seat the next candidate.","2026-10-31","2026-10-31T08:00:00-07:00","voche.me editors","Election news",[13,14,15,16],"Surrey Board of Education","school trustee","byelection","Surrey First Education","https:\u002F\u002Fsurreynowleader.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fsites\u002F8\u002F2026\u002F10\u002FGarryThind_A.jpg?w=848","Garry Thind, re-elected Surrey school trustee and MLA-elect in Surrey-Guildford","Surrey Now-Leader",null,false,{"path":23,"title":24,"description":25,"date":8,"publishedAt":26,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":27,"image":32,"imageAlt":33,"imageCredit":19,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-police-board-names-matsumoto-chief-mccallum-demands-new-board","Surrey Police Board names Todd Matsumoto chief constable; McCallum calls for board's removal","The Surrey Police Board appointed Todd Matsumoto permanent chief constable on October 30, hours before the new council takes office, prompting mayor-elect Doug McCallum to demand the Province replace every board member.","2026-10-31T07:30:00-07:00",[28,29,30,31],"Surrey Police Service","Safe Surrey Coalition","police","inauguration","https:\u002F\u002Fsurreynowleader.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fsites\u002F8\u002F2026\u002F10\u002FSPS20new20chief20constable20matsumoto.jpg?w=1024","Todd Matsumoto, the newly appointed chief constable of Surrey Police Service",{"path":35,"title":36,"description":37,"date":38,"publishedAt":39,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":40,"image":20,"imageAlt":44,"imageCredit":20,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-bus-attack-terrorist-sentenced-15-years","Surrey man sentenced to 15 years and 8 months for ISIS-inspired bus attack","Abdul Aziz Kawam, 31, was sentenced October 29, 2026 in BC Supreme Court to 15 years and 20 months on terrorism-related charges for a 2023 knife attack on two people in Surrey that he carried out in the name of ISIS.","2026-10-30","2026-10-30T08:30:00-07:00",[28,41,42,43],"Public Safety","Terrorism","Surrey Transit","Illustration of a city bus stop shelter on a suburban street",{"path":46,"title":47,"description":48,"date":38,"publishedAt":49,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":50,"image":55,"imageAlt":56,"imageCredit":57,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-new-council-inaugural-meeting-november-2","Doug McCallum to lead inaugural Surrey council meeting Monday at 7 pm","The new Surrey City Council takes office Monday, November 2, 2026, with Mayor-elect Doug McCallum and eight councillors sworn in at a 7 pm ceremony at Surrey City Hall.","2026-10-30T07:53:00-07:00",[51,52,53,29,54],"Surrey City Council","Mayor","Inauguration","Surrey Connect","https:\u002F\u002Fsurreynowleader.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fsites\u002F8\u002F2026\u002F10\u002FMcCallum204_ad0488.jpg?w=1024","Doug McCallum smiling after winning the mayor's seat in the 2026 Surrey civic election","Tricia Leslie \u002F Peace Arch News",{"path":59,"title":60,"description":61,"date":38,"publishedAt":62,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":63,"image":67,"imageAlt":68,"imageCredit":69,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-skytrain-safety-report-incidents-rising","SkyTrain safety incidents doubled since before the pandemic, report says","Technical Safety BC and TransLink issued a joint call to action on SkyTrain safety in October 2026, pointing to a report showing the incident rate on the Expo and Millennium lines doubled between 2016 to 2019 and 2023 to 2025.","2026-10-30T09:15:00-07:00",[64,65,41,66],"SkyTrain","TransLink","Getting Around Surrey","https:\u002F\u002Fsurreycitizen.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F10\u002Funnamed.jpg","A SkyTrain station platform with transit infrastructure visible","Surrey Citizen",{"path":71,"title":72,"description":73,"date":38,"publishedAt":74,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":75,"image":78,"imageAlt":79,"imageCredit":80,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-teen-police-shooting-inquest-november-9","Coroner's inquest into Surrey police shooting of 15-year-old starts November 9","The B.C. Coroners Service will hold an inquest into the 2025 fatal police shooting of a 15-year-old in Surrey's Clayton Heights neighbourhood, starting November 9, 2026. The inquest is a public fact-finding process and will not assign fault.","2026-10-30T10:00:00-07:00",[28,76,41,77],"Coroner's Inquest","Mental Health Response","https:\u002F\u002Fi.cbc.ca\u002Fais\u002F1.7459432,1793299595524\u002Ffull\u002Fmax\u002F0\u002Fdefault.jpg?im=Crop%2Crect%3D%280%2C0%2C1800%2C1012%29%3BResize%3D620","Photo of Chase de Balinhard, a 15-year-old Surrey teen who was fatally shot by police in 2025","GoFundMe.ca \u002F CBC",{"path":82,"title":83,"description":84,"date":85,"publishedAt":86,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":87,"image":89,"imageAlt":90,"imageCredit":91,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Flocke-reflects-surrey-election-october-29","Outgoing Mayor Brenda Locke says BC provincial election cost her the race","In an interview with the Vancouver Sun, Locke says momentum shifted in the final two to three weeks of the campaign after Premier Eby called a snap provincial vote.","2026-10-29","2026-10-29T07:50:00-07:00",[52,54,29,88],"election results","https:\u002F\u002Fsmartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\u002Fvancouversun\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F10\u002Fpng1027-brenda-locke_305983393.jpg","Outgoing Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke in Surrey on October 27, 2026","Arlen Redekop \u002F PNG \u002F Vancouver Sun",{"path":93,"title":94,"description":95,"date":96,"publishedAt":97,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":98,"image":101,"imageAlt":102,"imageCredit":103,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fmetro-vancouver-rejects-mccallum-cancel-budget-vote-october-27","Metro Vancouver board will vote on 2027 budget Friday, rejecting McCallum's cancellation call","Surrey's mayor-elect Doug McCallum asked Metro Vancouver to cancel its October 30 meeting. The regional body confirmed the 2027 budget vote will proceed.","2026-10-27","2026-10-27T07:52:00-07:00",[52,29,99,100],"City of Surrey","Metro Vancouver","https:\u002F\u002Fsmartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\u002Fvancouversun\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2026\u002F09\u002F0922-surrey-election-newton-1.jpg","Doug McCallum at a Surrey election event","Jason Payne \u002F Vancouver Sun",{"path":105,"title":106,"description":107,"date":108,"publishedAt":109,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":110,"image":114,"imageAlt":115,"imageCredit":116,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fmccallum-cloverdale-harness-racing-plan-october-21","Doug McCallum sets out steps to bring harness racing back to Cloverdale by fall 2027","Surrey's mayor-elect says the City will rebuild the Cloverdale Fairgrounds barns and racing oval and sign a new racing lease, the Surrey Now-Leader reports. He says the Province must also commit.","2026-10-22","2026-10-22T22:37:00-07:00",[52,29,111,112,113],"Cloverdale Fairgrounds","harness racing","promise tracker","https:\u002F\u002Fsurreynowleader.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fsites\u002F8\u002F2026\u002F10\u002FFraserDowns.jpg?w=1024","A harness racing driver in a two wheeled cart behind a brown horse on a snow covered track, with the grandstand behind","Malin Jordan, Cloverdale Reporter",{"path":118,"title":119,"description":120,"date":108,"publishedAt":121,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":122,"image":126,"imageAlt":127,"imageCredit":128,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-official-election-results-october-21","Surrey declares official 2026 election results, same 15 people elected","Surrey's Chief Election Officer declared the official results on October 21, 2026, naming Doug McCallum mayor with the same eight councillors and six trustees as election night.","2026-10-22T22:34:00-07:00",[52,123,124,125,29,16],"Councillor","School Trustee","official results","\u002Fimages\u002Fbc-surrey-2026\u002Fcity-hall-1600.webp","Surrey City Hall, a glass and stone building under a wide wooden roof, across an empty paved plaza under a blue sky","Northwest, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons",{"path":130,"title":131,"description":132,"date":108,"publishedAt":133,"author":10,"category":11,"tags":134,"image":136,"imageAlt":137,"imageCredit":138,"updated":20,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"pinned":21},"\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-ward-system-referendum-elford-october-22","Surrey ward system may need a public vote first, Councillor Doug Elford says","Mayor-elect Doug McCallum promised to bring back ward elections in Surrey. Councillor Doug Elford told the Surrey Now-Leader the change will probably need a referendum and could take eight years.","2026-10-22T22:35:00-07:00",[52,123,29,135,113],"ward system","https:\u002F\u002Fsurreynowleader.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002Fsites\u002F8\u002F2026\u002F10\u002FAnnaCityHall.jpg?w=1024","The words City Hall in black letters on a wood panel wall beside a glass front at Surrey City Hall","Surrey Now-Leader file photo",{"id":140,"title":6,"aiMetadata":141,"author":10,"body":153,"candidates":225,"category":11,"date":8,"description":7,"extension":228,"faq":229,"image":17,"imageAlt":18,"imageCheckedAt":254,"imageCredit":19,"imageScene":20,"linkedin":255,"linkedinPostUrl":20,"meta":262,"metaDescription":263,"navigation":264,"path":5,"pinned":21,"primarySourceUrl":265,"publishedAt":9,"seo":266,"seoTitle":20,"sourceId":267,"sourceIsPaywalled":21,"sources":268,"stem":274,"storyType":275,"tags":276,"topicKey":277,"updated":20,"__hash__":278},"news\u002Fnews\u002Fsurrey-board-of-education-byelection-garry-thind-mla.md",{"summary":142,"keyTopics":143,"semanticKeywords":148},"Garry Thind was elected a Surrey school trustee on October 17 and then MLA for Surrey-Guildford on October 24. Under BC law, he cannot hold both positions. When he is sworn in as MLA, a court may order either a byelection (Surrey Schools estimates the cost at $840,000) or declare the next-highest candidate, Gary Tymoschuk, elected. Any application must be filed within 30 days of the certification of results, which is November 20, 2026.",[13,144,145,15,146,147],"Garry Thind","Gary Tymoschuk","school trustee vacancy","Local Government Act",[149,150,151,16,152],"Surrey school trustee byelection","Garry Thind MLA trustee","Surrey Board of Education vacancy","Surrey-Guildford MLA",{"type":154,"value":155,"toc":221},"minimark",[156,165,168,174,177,184,187,192,195,198,203,206,209],[157,158,159,160,164],"p",{},"Surrey Board of Education may face a byelection costing $840,000 (an estimate from the City of Surrey) after ",[161,162,144],"a",{"href":163},"\u002Fbc\u002Fsurrey-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Fgarry-thind-surrey-2026"," was elected both a school trustee on October 17 and an MLA on October 24. Under BC law, he cannot hold both positions, and a court will decide what happens to his trustee seat.",[157,166,167],{},"The Surrey Now-Leader reported on October 29 that Thind will be disqualified from the trustee position once he is sworn in as an MLA in coming weeks. At that point, a judge may be asked to decide under BC's Local Government Act.",[157,169,170],{},[171,172,173],"strong",{},"Two possible outcomes",[157,175,176],{},"The Local Government Act gives a court two options when an elected trustee is disqualified. The court can order a byelection, or it can declare the candidate with the next-highest vote count elected in the disqualified candidate's place.",[157,178,179,180,183],{},"That candidate is ",[161,181,145],{"href":182},"\u002Fbc\u002Fsurrey-2026\u002Fcandidates\u002Fgary-tymoschuk",", who received 32,681 votes in the October 17 trustee race, placing seventh out of 24 candidates for 6 seats. Tymoschuk ran with the Surrey First Education slate, the same slate Thind ran with.",[157,185,186],{},"Surrey Schools put the cost of a byelection at $840,000, describing it as an initial estimate from the City of Surrey. The district confirmed that cost would be paid entirely by the school district.",[157,188,189],{},[171,190,191],{},"How Thind ended up elected twice",[157,193,194],{},"Thind was re-elected as a school trustee on October 17, placing second among trustee candidates with 43,893 votes. His name remained on the civic ballot even though he had entered the BC provincial race before voting day. He won the Surrey-Guildford MLA seat on October 24.",[157,196,197],{},"On BC election night, Thind said Conservative officials were \"looking for options if there is any legal way of not getting a byelection done,\" according to the Surrey Now-Leader. He said he did not want extra costs for taxpayers and that \"people will be happy if there is no cost involved in getting a byelection done for one seat.\"",[157,199,200],{},[171,201,202],{},"Who decides, and when",[157,204,205],{},"According to Surrey Schools, any application to the court must be filed within 30 days of the certification of election results, which is November 20, 2026. The Local Government Act allows the Chief Election Officer, any candidate in the election, or any four electors to apply. No application had been filed as of October 29.",[157,207,208],{},"\"The District cannot comment on what Garry Thind's election as an MLA means for filling the final Board seat or the possibility of any byelection,\" Surrey Schools said. \"That will depend on whether a court application is made and, if so, how the court rules.\"",[157,210,211,212,216,217,220],{},"Voters who want to follow whether a byelection is called, and to track the new board's decisions, can watch the ",[161,213,215],{"href":214},"\u002Fbc\u002Fsurrey-2026\u002Fresults","Surrey election results"," and the ",[161,218,113],{"href":219},"\u002Fbc\u002Fsurrey-2026\u002Ftracker"," on this site.",{"title":222,"searchDepth":223,"depth":223,"links":224},"",2,[],[226,227],"garry-thind-surrey-2026","gary-tymoschuk","md",[230,233,236,239,242,245,248,251],{"question":231,"answer":232},"How did Garry Thind end up elected to two positions?","Thind ran for re-election as a Surrey school trustee with the Surrey First Education slate. He was re-elected on October 17, 2026, placing second among 24 trustee candidates with 43,893 votes. Before the trustee results were certified, he also ran in the BC provincial election and won the Surrey-Guildford MLA seat on October 24. His name remained on the civic election ballot even though he had since entered the provincial race.",{"question":234,"answer":235},"Why does holding both positions matter legally?","BC's Local Government Act does not allow a person to hold both a school trustee position and a seat in the BC Legislature at the same time. Surrey Schools confirmed that Thind will be disqualified from the trustee position once he is sworn in as an MLA. The district says it cannot comment on what will happen to the seat until someone applies to the court or the court rules.",{"question":237,"answer":238},"What are the two possible outcomes?","Under BC's Local Government Act, a judge can order one of two things: a byelection to fill the vacant trustee seat, or a declaration that the candidate with the next-highest vote total in the October 17 election is elected in Thind's place. That candidate is Gary Tymoschuk, who received 32,681 votes, placing seventh out of 24 candidates for 6 seats. No court has ruled yet, and no application has been filed as of October 29, 2026.",{"question":240,"answer":241},"How much would a byelection cost?","Surrey Schools says initial cost estimates from the City of Surrey put a byelection at $840,000. Surrey Schools described this as an estimate. That cost would be paid entirely by the school district, not by the City. Surrey Schools noted this in its public statement about the situation.",{"question":243,"answer":244},"Who can apply to the court?","Under the Local Government Act, as reported by the Surrey Now-Leader, the Chief Election Officer, a candidate in the election, or any four electors may apply to the court for a determination. Surrey Schools confirmed that any application must be filed within 30 days of the certification of election results, which is November 20, 2026. Thirty days after November 20 is December 20, 2026.",{"question":246,"answer":247},"What did Garry Thind say about the situation?","On BC election night, Thind said BC Conservative party officials were looking for options to avoid a byelection if legally possible, according to the Surrey Now-Leader. He said residents would prefer no byelection cost and that he did not want extra costs for taxpayers. He did not say he would resign the MLA seat.",{"question":249,"answer":250},"Who is Gary Tymoschuk?","Gary Tymoschuk is the Surrey First Education incumbent who ran for re-election as a school trustee on October 17, 2026. He received 32,681 votes, placing seventh out of 24 candidates. Six seats were available. He was not elected. If a court determines that Thind's seat is vacant and orders the runner-up declared elected, Tymoschuk would fill that seat without a byelection.",{"question":252,"answer":253},"Where can I follow the Surrey Board of Education after the new term starts?","The new Surrey Board of Education takes office on November 2, 2026. Residents can follow trustee decisions and track promises made during the campaign at \u002Fbc\u002Fsurrey-2026\u002Ftracker on this site. The results from the October 17 election are at \u002Fbc\u002Fsurrey-2026\u002Fresults.","2026-10-31T07:15:00-07:00",{"short":256,"long":257,"hashtags":258},"Surrey school trustee Garry Thind also won an MLA seat on October 24. He cannot hold both. A court will decide whether to hold a $840,000 byelection or seat the runner-up, Gary Tymoschuk. The deadline to apply is November 20.","Garry Thind won re-election as a Surrey school trustee on October 17, then won the Surrey-Guildford MLA seat on October 24. BC law disqualifies him from the trustee position once he is sworn in as MLA. Under the Local Government Act, a court can either order a byelection or declare the next-highest candidate elected. Surrey Schools estimates a byelection would cost $840,000. Any application must be filed within 30 days of November 20, when the election results are certified.",[259,260,261],"SurreyBC","SurreySchools","BCPoli",{"sourceName":19},"Garry Thind holds two elected seats. When he is sworn in as MLA, he loses his trustee seat. A court will decide: $840,000 byelection or seat the runner-up.",true,"https:\u002F\u002Fsurreynowleader.com\u002F2026\u002F10\u002F29\u002Fsurrey-could-soon-have-a-school-trustee-by-election-at-840k-cost-if-judge-so-rules\u002F",{"title":6,"description":7},"google:CBMivwFBVV95cUxQMGpybjVIZGpQbTF5TUtqVjZPekhncC1GdUo1bDVUc3RZTlNVMkEtQ0hYNU5lOGFZbmJfLV9ITmxkaGhvMFpUcWFTUGhYYXk5V293eU1aNTd4SHBYTWVHeWV4TmFSdi16U015ODBoM0JDb09HLVVuaW1sdHFBRG91M2VZdzgtZ1pla0ltYVE3RjBDSl9mUDR0MnB4czlKRk1xTC1VaThybUhVSTZ6SnpuZklwNGdLQUt2a1RTaGYtbw",[269,271],{"label":270,"url":265},"Surrey Now-Leader: $840K byelection looms in Surrey after Conservative was elected twice in October",{"label":272,"url":273},"voche.me: Surrey election results","https:\u002F\u002Fvoche.me\u002Fbc\u002Fsurrey-2026\u002Fresults","news\u002Fsurrey-board-of-education-byelection-garry-thind-mla","reported",[13,14,15,16],"surrey-board-of-education\u002Fresults","_uVLDMzihENkljDq9MV6oDST7Glngq70rCXb9TsuIu0",[280,293],{"slug":226,"name":144,"office":124,"party":281,"portrait":283,"colour":292,"palette":20},{"name":16,"url":282},"https:\u002F\u002Fsurreyfirsteducation.ca",{"src":284,"smallSrc":285,"width":286,"height":287,"alt":288,"credit":289,"sourceUrl":290,"position":291},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fgarry-thind-surrey-2026-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fgarry-thind-surrey-2026-320.webp",640,800,"Garry Thind, from City of Surrey candidate profile (surrey.ca).","City of Surrey candidate profile (surrey.ca)","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.surrey.ca\u002F2026-municipal-election\u002Fcandidates\u002Fcandidates-office-of-school-trustee\u002Fthind-garry","50% 30%","blue",{"slug":227,"name":145,"office":124,"party":294,"portrait":295,"colour":292,"palette":20},{"name":16,"url":282},{"src":296,"smallSrc":297,"width":286,"height":287,"alt":298,"credit":289,"sourceUrl":299,"position":291},"\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fgary-tymoschuk-640.webp","\u002Fimages\u002Fcandidates\u002Fgary-tymoschuk-320.webp","Gary Tymoschuk, from City of Surrey candidate profile (surrey.ca).","https:\u002F\u002Fwww.surrey.ca\u002F2026-municipal-election\u002Fcandidates\u002Fcandidates-office-of-school-trustee\u002Ftymoschuk-gary",1793466168986]