Ekenna, Gobeil, Foley elected to BSD board

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This article was published 06/11/2020 (2176 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Calistus Ekenna, Jason Gobeil and Blaine Foley are the newest members of the Brandon School Division’s board of trustees, having garnered a combined 2,138 votes that were cast in this year’s byelection.

After polls closed Wednesday at 8 p.m., Ekenna ended the night with the most votes to his name at 776, while Gobeil and Foley trailed with 695 and 667 votes, respectively.

Five other candidates also ran for a spot on the BSD’s board during this year’s byelection, including Brock McEwing (594), Jason Splett (514), Breeanna Sieklicki (472), Bonnie Mills (389) and Lynda Arndt (306).

Overall, 1,773 ballots were successfully cast during this byelection, with voters being asked to name their three preferred candidates on each ballot.*

A byelection official also revealed on Thursday afternoon that 153 ballots, not included in the above total, were declined, rejected or spoiled.

All three winning candidates have never held this position with the BSD before, which means they have the capacity to bring a fresh perspective to the board of trustees based on their past job experience.

Foley is currently employed at the Brandon Neighbourhood Renewal Corporation, where he administers federal homeless strategy funding.

During the campaign, Foley said his experience working with government entities, including groups like the Brandon University’s Board of Governors, will be a real asset in his new role as a BSD trustee.

“I’m looking forward to serving our community with the best interest of students,” Foley said Thursday morning. “And I want to thank everyone who encouraged me in my campaign, including former teachers and family members. I’m really excited.”

Meanwhile, Gobeil and Ekenna both serve as social workers for Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services, boasting extensive familiarity with the needs of Brandon’s Indigenous and immigrant communities.

On Thursday morning, Ekenna told the Sun that his new position as a trustees will be an organic continuation of the work he has already done as an addictions co-ordinator, since he really wants to emphasize issues like mental health throughout the next two years.

“I think the work will be on a different level, but this is who I am,” he said. “I feel very passionate about what I do as a social worker.”

As a program co-ordinator for Dakota’s Ohitika/Ogichidaa Warrior Men’s Program, Gobeil is no stranger to exploring the many relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Brandon, and is looking forward to bringing that unique voice to the BSD board.

“We’re now looking at some real new fresh voices, some younger voices at that table, to really set forth a new path for the division and the growth of that division too,” he said.

However, Gobeil has no illusions about the hard work that is in store for all the rookie BSD trustees, especially with budget deliberations set to take place throughout November.

“So I think we’ve got quite a bit of work ahead of ourselves, especially for those who are coming into this from a new perspective,” he said.

The newly elected trustees will be sworn in during a special board meeting on Monday at 5:30 p.m., which will be live-streamed through the BSD’s website.

The byelection was originally triggered earlier this year after three BSD trustees announced their resignation within a short period of time.

Stephen Montague resigned in January in order to pursue an unexpected professional opportunity in Winnipeg. He was first elected to the BSD board of trustees in 2018.

Kevan Sumner announced his retirement from the board in July 2019 after serving as a trustee for nine years, wanting to seek out a new career opportunity in British Columbia.

Meanwhile, 14-year veteran Peter Bartlette gave his notice on Aug. 24, wanting to take care of a family member living in eastern Ontario who is experiencing serious health problems.

While a byelection was supposed to take place in May to fill these empty seats, the COVID-19 pandemic forced BSD members to push everything back until November.

The BSD board of trustees are responsible for managing the affairs of the district’s 24 schools and roughly 9,000 students.

*A previous version of this article provided incorrect information about the total number of ballots that were cast in this byelection. The Sun apologizes for this error.

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