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A District of Squamish bylaw administrator is seeking to become a trustee for School District 48.
Lisa Turpin, a bylaw enforcement co-ordinator with the municipality, is running for one of the two seats on the school board reserved for residents of the District of Squamish.
Turpin also served as a municipal councillor in Lions Bay in the early 2000s, worked as an early childhood educator with the Vancouver School Board and is a self-described hockey mom.
She said that in the past times she has run for office, she has never had a platform, and she doesn't plan on having one this time around.
"I have never done a platform; I always round on village spirit and naively didn't realize that people had platforms of what they were or were not going to do," said Turpin.
"My thinking is, you listen to all sides of the discussion, you gather all of the facts, gather all of the information, and you do…what's in the best interest for the children, the teachers and the taxpayers."
She said that when going into politics, one doesn't know what the legislative rules are. As a result, people can promise things during the campaign and not realize that those are impossibilities.
"A lot of people don't realize that their hands are tied, and they can't do anything of what they thought they could do," said Turpin. "Because that's not how governance works."
She said it's necessary to find out the perceptions and views of people in the community and take it from there.
One issue that she deemed important to her is helping students with diverse learning abilities find the best environment to thrive.
"You've got to look at what's best for those students first, then the collective and then hope they marry up together," said Turpin.
"Until I know what parameters our school district has, I can't really say one way is going to be better than another way. What resources do we have? What is in the best interest of all the kids, right? I don't think it's ever an easy solution."
When Turpin was asked about how voters were to make a decision on a candidate with no platform, she said that it's about listening to people.
"My thinking is, whenever you're elected to office, you should be taking the total pulse of the community that you're serving," she said.
"It's more about, I think, having a common-sense approach and making sure that everybody feels heard, and that the right decisions are going to be presented and made and that you're representing the community as best you can. So when I say I don't have a platform…community is the platform."
She said if she were to be elected, she'd learn a lot from staff and returning trustees on the back history of current policies and what is and isn't working.
The school board election takes place on Oct. 15.
