Long-time Sooke School Board chair Ravi Parmar is the first person stepping forward to seek the NDP nomination in the provincial riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca, which became available when former premier John Horgan retired last month.
The 28-year-old Parmar, who was the youngest school trustee in Canada when he was first elected in 2014 at the age of 20, emerged as board chair in 2017 at 22.
Parmar, who works as a senior adviser to Jobs and Economic Development Minister Brenda Bailey, said his introduction to politics came as a 16-year-old student advocating for a replacement for the former Belmont Secondary School, which was aging and in need of repair.
“You guys know the one, filled with duct tape,” he said at his Wednesday announcement at HOB Fine Foods and Events Centre in Langford. “We collected thousands of signatures on a petition and we even walked out of class.”
The byelection has to be called within six months of the departure of Horgan, who was premier for five years.
Supporters at Parmar’s announcement included Children and Family Development Minister Mitzi Dean, who serves as NDP MLA for Esquimalt-Metchosin, and Bob Beckett, former Sooke School Board vice-chair and Langford fire chief.
The B.C. Green Party named personal trainer Camille Currie, founder of the patient-advocacy group B.C. Health Care Matters, as its candidate in Langford-Juan de Fuca last week.
Parmar said he will continue to serve as a trustee for now, but has taken a leave of absence from his position as board chair.
He said he put a lot of thought into potentially leaving the school board for another challenge.
“I love the school district,” Parmar said. “I have been involved in the Sooke School District from my 20th birthday to represent my community, essentially my entire adult life.
“It was a tough decision to decide to go and move on to something else.”
Parmar said he expects the byelection will be hard-fought and he will soon be knocking on doors around the riding.
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