VANCOUVER, B.C. (Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh territories) — OneCity members nominated 12 outstanding candidates for Vancouver City Council, School Board and Park Board this weekend. OneCity is the first municipal party to decide who will run for office in the October 2022 elections.

“We’re thrilled to have such a talented and diverse team to represent us in October,” said OneCity spokesperson Christine Boyle, who won the party’s support for reelection. “OneCity is ready to elect strong progressive voices across Vancouver with bold solutions to the many crises our city faces.”

For City Council, the party will run incumbent Christine Boyle, president of the Urban Native Youth Association Matthew Norris, Vancouver senior transportation planner Iona Bonamis, and health economist and musician Ian Cromwell. 

School Board candidates include incumbent Jennifer Reddy, former president of the Vancouver Secondary Teachers Association Rory Brown, former chair of the Vancouver Public Library Kyla Epstein, Out In Schools education director Gavin Somers, and Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council member Krista Sigurdson. 

Vancouver 2SLGBTQ+ Advisory Committee co-chair Serena Jackson, Squamish Nation councillor Tiyaltelut Kristen Rivers, and environmental lawyer Caitlin Stockwell are running for Vancouver’s Park Board. 

“School Board is a top priority for us this election with crucial decisions coming up in the next term that will affect every Vancouverite,” said OneCity School Board Trustee Jennifer Reddy. “We need trustees who are willing to stand up for students and fight for the public interest — that’s exactly what our team will do.”

OneCity Vancouver has seen enormous growth over the past year. The party has more than tripled its membership since launching the nomination race and has doubled monthly donations in the last year. More than 80 percent of those members participated in last week’s election, using a system of proportional representation. Now that OneCity members know who will represent the party in the fall election, the candidates have more time to introduce themselves to Vancouverites and build on their long-standing community work. 

“OneCity is in a stronger position than ever before,” said OneCity Co-Chair Cara Ng. “There’s so much energy and enthusiasm around our forward-looking approach to politics, and that’s reflected in the exceptional community leaders who have stepped up to run with us.”

Media Contact:

OneCity spokesperson Christine Boyle
[email protected]
604-805-5821 (cell) 

Candidate Backgrounder

Vancouver City Council candidates:

• Christine Boyle (she/her) is the leading progressive voice on Council since she was elected with OneCity in 2018. Boyle has championed the city’s Climate Emergency Action Plan, the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and expanding non-market, co-op and rental housing across Vancouver. 
• Matthew Norris (he/him) is the president of the Urban Native Youth Association, which provides programming for Indigenous youth and their families. Norris brings years of policy experience with the Union of BC Indian Chiefs, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and as an Indigenous delegate to the United Nations. He is Nehithaw and a proud member of Lac La Ronge First Nation.
• Iona (思穎) Bonamis (she/her) works for the City of Vancouver as a senior transportation planner, with a Masters of Science in Community and Regional Programming from UBC and more than 13 years experience as an urban planner. Bonamis is a small business owner and a Vancouver-born, first-generation Chinese-Canadian who speaks fluent Cantonese.
• Ian Cromwell (he/him) is a health economist at the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technologies in Health, where he provides advice to healthcare decision-makers to ensure the best use of public resources. Cromwell is a classically-trained violinist and founder of Locals Lounge, a grassroots incubator for Vancouver’s music community.

Vancouver School Board candidates:

• Jennifer Reddy (she/her) is a determined advocate for access and equity as a OneCity Trustee, working to establish safe school streets, remove police from schools and prevent the sale of public land. Reddy holds a Masters in Social Policy and Development from the London School of Economics. 
• Rory Brown (he/him) is the former president of the Vancouver Secondary Teachers Association and served on the executive of the BC Teachers Federation. Brown taught high school in Vancouver for 15 years before joining the BCIT Department of Mechanical Engineering. 
• Kyla Epstein (she/her) is a former chair of the Vancouver Public Library and past director with the BC Library Trustees Association. Epstein was a co-founder of OneCity, and has been on a Parent Advisory Council Executive for more than 10 years.
• Gavin Somers (they/them) is the education director for Out In Schools, an award-winning 2SLGBTQIA+ education program that offers workshops in schools across British Columbia. Somers is currently on parental leave with their first child. 
• Krista Sigurdson (she/her) served as executive on the Vancouver District Parent Advisory Council, and is a regular correspondent on CBC’s parent panel. Sigurdson teaches sociology at UBC, and is on the Parent Advisory Council for her childrens’ school in the Downtown Eastside.

Vancouver Park Board candidates:

• Serena Jackson (they/them) is the co-chair of Vancouver’s 2SLGBTQ+ Advisory Committee. Jackson works as a case manager for at-risk youth at Pacific Community Resource Society where they support young people with transitioning into adulthood.
• Tiyaltelut Kristen Rivers (she/her) is an elected councillor for the Squamish Nation. Rivers serves on the board of Nch’ḵay̓ Corporation, the Nation’s economic development arm, and is pursuing her Masters of Business Administration at SFU. 
• Caitlin Stockwell (she/her) Caitlin Stockwell is a lawyer at First Peoples Law, where she supports the work of Indigenous Peoples in advancing their rights and upholding Indigenous laws and governance. Stockwell has a background in environmental law and holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Victoria.

Candidate photos are available here.