School Trustee Candidates Roundtable

Election 2026 Seven candidates. Five positions. One conversation about our kids and the future of public education.As part of our 2026 local election coverage, we brought together all seven candidates seeking election as School Trustees representing West Vancouver, Bowen Island and Lions Bay.In order of introduction, you’ll hear from incumbents Sheelah Donahue and Felicia Zhu, followed by John O’Flynn, Richard Loat, John Calimente, Roman Nurpeissov and Karen Straith.We cover a lot of ground: why they’re running, what they’re hearing from students and families, what our schools could be doing better, how we balance priorities with limited resources, and what we should be preparing today’s kids for in a rapidly changing world.Don’t have an hour to listen?The conversation falls naturally into three parts: The first 15 minutes — Meet the candidates.Each candidate introduces themselves, talks about their background and explains why they’re running.The middle 30–35 minutes — The conversation.Questions and discussion about students, schools, priorities, budgets, resources and the challenges facing public education.The final 10 minutes — Closing thoughts.Each candidate gets a final opportunity to tell voters what they think is important and why they want to serve.So, you can listen to the whole roundtable, or choose the section that interests you most. This is a chance to hear all seven candidates together, in their own words, and learn a little more about them.The Bowen Island Podcast is produced in a small cabin in the woods on Bowen Island, on the ancestral and unceded territory of the Skwxwú7mesh Úxwumixw — the Squamish Nation — with gratitude for their stewardship of these lands and waters over countless generations.If you’d like to explore more of my work on conversation, community and polarization, you can find me on other broadcast/podcast platforms, including The Conversation Lab, Everything Podcasts.com, Central City Foundations Hope Dialogue, or on Substack. Thanks for listening