Calgary school board trustee eyes provincial run under UCP banner
Calgary public school board trustee Lisa Davis says she plans to make the switch to provincial politics under the UCP banner after hitting "significant roadblocks" that kept her from serving the public.
Davis said she will run for the United Conservative Party nomination in Calgary-Bow ahead of next spring's provincial election.
The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) trustee for wards 6 and 7 said since being elected last October her effort to promote more transparency have been frustrated by a lack of full and timely access to information.
"In the course of my work as a trustee, it has become clear that our education system requires critical changes that can only be accomplished at the provincial level," she said to CBC News in an email.
The CBE trustees board said Thursday afternoon Davis's announcement was a complete surprise to them, but the new trustee can stay on in her current role.
"Trustees have a duty to always put their responsibilities to the Calgary Board of Education first, so as long as a trustee continues to do that, then there would not be a conflict," said CBE chair Trina Hurdman.
"We were surprised by some of those comments today. The board of trustees has always strived to give trustees the information that they need so that they are fully aware of operational issues and things going on within our system."
Hurdman added "healthy tension" between trustees is a good thing.
Davis was elected under the Students Count banner, along with Mike Bradshaw and Althea Adams.
The group highlighted five priorities for the board, including finding efficiencies within the $1.4-billion budget and directing that money toward classroom resources.
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