The Chilliwack School District byelection has drawn 13 candidates – more than twice the number that ran in the last byelection.
The official nomination period closed at 4 p.m. on Friday, leaving five weeks before the Dec. 12 voting day.
The byelection was called following the recent death of long-time school trustee Martha Wiens.
Those hoping to secure a seat on the board are:
Alisha Atkinson, Ray Blanchette, Paula DeWit, John Edwards, Angelina Gosselin, Karen Jarvis, Brian Mielke, Marion Mussell, Bob Patterson, Megan Praat, Perry Sherstobetoff, Robert Stelmaschuk, and Lisa Thébault.
Candidates have until 4 p.m., Nov. 13 to let their name stand; an official declaration of candidates will take place on Monday, Nov. 16 at p.m. at City Hall.
General election day is Dec. 12, with voting taking place between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at the following locations:
Chilliwack Secondary School, in the Neighbourhood Learning Centre, Alumni Hall (46361 Yale Road); Cultus Lake Community School gymnasium (71 Sunnyside Avenue); Rosedale Traditional Community School gymnasium (50850 Yale Road); and Vedder Middle School gymnasium (45560 South Sumas Rd).
Advanced voting opportunities will take place 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at City Hall (550 Young Road) on Dec. 2, and on Dec. 9 during the same time at Cottonwood Mall (45585 Luckakuck Way, in the former front entrance to the Target Store off the south parking lot).
Special voting opportunities will be conducted for the residents, their family members and the employees at Chilliwack General Hospital/ Bradley Centre (45600 Menholm Road) on Dec. 11 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and at Cascade Lodge (45586 McIntosh Drive) on Dec. 11 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m.
A byelection held in 2013 to replace Louise Piper drew only six candidates.
Dan Coulter won that election. The total number of votes cast was 1,453.
Note: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information about voting times and locations