School board elections marked by surprising upsets

In Winnipeg's most recent school board elections, numerous surprising outcomes occurred, with more than a half-dozen unexpected victories achieved by sitting school trustees. These trustees experienced victories either by securing their seats or regaining them after losing in 2022, or by entering higher public office.

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Several experienced trustees found themselves on the losing side of these unexpected victories. These included Edward Ploszay, who served as school board chairperson for 16 years in Seven Oaks and lost his re-election bid in Ward 3, and newcomer Lisa Brooks, who will now represent families in Garden City, Riverbend and surrounding communities alongside incumbents Evan Krosney, Teresa Jaworski and Richard Sawka.

Cameron Hauseman, an associate professor of education at the University of Manitoba, noted that incumbent trustees typically benefit from an "incumbent bump" due to their experience and name recognition. However, he also mentioned that new ideas and perspectives from new trustees can also be beneficial.

A notable trend in this year's elections was the formation of "joint slates" in multi-seat wards, with nominees supporting each other to save printing costs. One example was Louis Riel trustee Ian Walker, who recruited rookie nominee Anna Weier to run together. Other new faces that emerged in Winnipeg's English-language school boards following this heated campaign season included rookies Timothy Giesbrecht and Anna Weier.