Four trustees acclaimed as Upper Canada District School Board election races take shape

The Upper Canada District School Board is guaranteed to see one new face at the trustee level, as local resident Scott Corden was acclaimed to be the Ward 7, Dundas County trustee. 

Cordon, a retired teacher and principal with the UCDSB, filed his nomination papers late last week in South Dundas. He was the second candidate for the position, with current North Dundas councillor John Lennox having filed his nomination papers early during the nomination period. Lennox withdrew his nomination before the August 21 2 p.m. deadline. Cordon said he is looking forward to the challenge of being a trustee.

“The role has changed, and is changing. Who knows where the government is going to go with this,” Cordon noted. “One of the things that has concerned me over the last few years was we did not have local representation.” 

Former trustee Larry Berry was acclaimed to Dundas County for a second term in 2022 but resigned early in his mandate due to health reasons. Since then, Dundas County was represented by former Ward 9 Stormont-Glengarry trustee John Danaher. 

“Local schools need to have local representation,” Cordon said. 

Retired from the UCDSB, Cordon was a Hockey Canada certified minor hockey referee for 10 years, and a former assistant returning officer for Elections Canada. He remains co-chair of the group 100 Men Who Care About South Dundas, and serves on the board of the Roy McMurtry Legal Clinic in Cornwall and SDG. He added that even with the role of trustee changing recently, it still is important. 

“It’s important to ensure the government funds education properly, and that the board allocates that properly,” he said. “That includes things like student mental health and well being, and student success,” Cordon explained. In the latter part of his career at the board he worked on student success initiatives for the UCDSB and for Eastern Ontario/Ottawa for the Ministry of Education. “I bring some experience and local knowledge to the table. We’ll see where that goes,” he said. 

Cordon is one of four trustees who were acclaimed Friday, and the only new trustee so far, but there will be at least three more new people at the UCDSB after the October 26 trustee election. 

Ward 1 (Eastern Lanark) trustee Lynda Johnston, Ward 2 (Western Lanark) Elizabeth Steinberg, and Ward 9 (Stormont-Glengarry) trustee John Danaher were acclaimed, although to the ward in which they currently serve. 

Current UCDSB chair Jamie Schoular faces a challenger in Ward 3 (North Leeds/Smiths Falls) with Gal Koran. Incumbent Ward 4 (Southwestern Leeds) trustee John McAllister is being challenged by Christorpher Buczynski. 

Current Ward 5 (Brockville/Augusta) trustee Michel Labonté is being challenged by Jodie Craig. Former trustee John McCrae is running again, this time in Ward 6 (Grenville), where he faces Andrew Shamnks and Lindsey Ross. 

In Ward 8 (Cornwall), Dylan Johnston, Ryan MacKay, and Katherine Vrastrak are vying for the trustee spot. And in Ward 10 (Prescott-Russell), James Vorobey and Tara Burton-Maclaren are seeking the job.

Voters in school board elections, where applicable, will cast their ballots on October 26.