Former Langley Township councillor Charlie Fox has officially thrown his hat into the ring for the upcoming byelection for a seat on the Langley Board of Education.
Fox will run for the Township trustee position vacated when former school board chair Megan Dykeman was elected as the NDP MLA for Langley East last November.
Fox said he was running as someone who was “truly independent” and as someone with a long history with education in Langley.
“I have committed my life’s work to the education of our children and youth and I see this as an opportunity to continue to do that in a trustee role,” Fox said in a statement announcing his candidacy.
Fox moved to Langley in 1973 to take up a teaching position, and spent much of his career as a principal at a number of local elementary schools before taking the helm at Aldergrove Community Secondary before his retirement in 2007.
“In my years in the system I was able to work in a variety of schools in various communities within the Township,” Fox said. “This has given me a good working knowledge of the community as a whole and also how each sub-community differs in its needs and configurations and how this is reflected in the local schools.”
He was also a four-term Township councillor, stepping down at the 2018 election. Given his background, he was the co-chair of the Township’s liaison committee with the school district that discussed common issues.
Fox said during his time as a principal, he was an advocate for student inclusivity and education choice.
“I was very involved in the early days of the French Immersion program implementation,” Fox said. “I was a pioneer in the early ’70s of the Outdoor Education program in the district. Also, I was at the forefront of programs like the AVID program implementation. I was instrumental in the Hairdressing, Auto Tech, and Construction dual credit trades programs in the district.”
He is also busy overseeing the Starfish Backpack Program in Aldergrove, Fox said.
Fox’s candidacy means that there will definitely be a genuine race.
Local activist Stacey Wakelin announced her run for office in late November.
A pro-diversity activist and founder of BC Parents for Inclusivity, Wakelin has been collecting support from other prominent community members, including former trustee Cecelia Reekie.
READ MORE: Wakelin announces run for Langley school board
The byelection will be held on Feb. 27.
It will include early voting days and will be the first local byelection to allow for mail in ballots, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
