The School District 22 all-candidates debate, Oct. 3

Image Credit: SUBMITTED: Gladys Fraser

None of the Vernon candidates running under the conservative Christian slate ParentsVoice B.C. bothered to show up to the school board trustees' all-candidates debate last night.

And along with the no-show, the three Vernon ParentsVoice B.C. candidates didn't answer a series of questions sent out by email.

ParentsVoice B.C. candidate Sylvia Herchen told iNFOnews.ca by text that she didn't show up so she wouldn't be the "target of leading questions."

Herchen said the move not to go was a suggestion from one of the other ParentsVoice B.C. candidates.

The decision not to attend infuriated one of the organizers.

"They want transparency yet they are not being transparent about who they are and why they have an interest now in running for trustees," Former District Parents’ Advisory Councils president Gladys Fraser told iNFOnews.ca.

"It's extremely disappointing for anybody who cares about the school trustee elections and really wants to make a well-informed decision, that three candidates have not put forward any information or made themselves available to have a discussion," she said.

READ MORE: Mysterious slate of right-wing school board candidates on Vernon, Kelowna ballots

Along with Herchen, ParentsVoice B.C. is running Jewlie Milligan and Nellie Villegas in Vernon.

However, Fraser said none of the three ParentsVoice B.C. candidates are known within the Vernon school district as community leaders or parent volunteers.

"It's hard to discern what they bring, in terms of what value they would add to the role of trustee. What strategic planning experience do they have? What budget experience do they have? What governance experience overall do they bring?" Fraser said. "Those are the sorts of questions that we're asked."

While Herchen isn't known within the school system, she is well known as a leading voice in the Vernon anti-vax and anti-mandate group.

Herchen organized one of the very first protests against COVID lockdowns in April 2020 and called health policies "tyranny."

She's also accused the government and the media of using COVID as an "experiment" to see how "docile" the population is and recently shared a post by British far-right extremist, and convicted violent offender Tommy Robinson.

What ParentsVoice B.C. stands for isn't easy to decipher from their website and the three Vernon candidates have refused to answer any questions important to voters.

Vernon trustee candidate Jewlie Milligan flat out refused an interview.

Along with the ParentsVoice B.C. candidates, school board incumbent Tom Williamson also didn't respond to questions sent out by organizers although did show up at the all-candidates debate.

However, Williamson had not RSVP'd so did not take part in the forum.

All four ParentsVoice B.C. candidates running in the Central Okanagan school district 23 trustees did show up to its all-candidates debate Oct. 3.

Kelowna candidate Teresa Docksteader has shared anti-vaccination posts and conspiracy theories online.

READ MORE: So what do school districts actually do and how much power do they have?

According to its website, ParentsVoice B.C. says it wants to "take back our schools" and "focus on preparing students for a productive adulthood, not the trends of the day."

What these trends are and who they're taking the school back from aren't mentioned.

The group's president Marc Vella has shared his anti-abortion sentiments publicly and ParentsVoice B.C. has also been endorsed by the Christian political advocacy organization, the Association for Reformed Political Action, a group that has fought against transgender rights.

The website unmasktheright.org recently wrote a story about Maple Ridge - Pitt Meadows ParentsVoice B.C. candidate Brian Dominick. The organization says he is a key anti-vax activist who has made speeches saying Covid was part of a globalist plot.

ParenstVoice B.C. candidates Jewlie Milligan and Nellie Villegas were not immediately available for comment.

READ MORE: Kelowna school trustees lash out at 'dangerous disinformation' on sexual orientation material

Sylvia Herchen at a protest at Vernon's Polson Park.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK: Patrick Vance

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