CANDIDATE FOR SCHOOL TRUSTEE
Richard Gauthier
School-trustee candidate prioritizing per-student funding that keeps pace with inflation, safe and inclusive schools, and accessible, transparent board decisions.
Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Earlier platform and record research: September 8, 2026. Recent statements show their own review dates.
Candidate questionnaire received and reviewed September 14, 2026. Published with authorization; answers are the candidate’s own statements. [114]
Experience & background
In his questionnaire, reports over 22 years working in SD23, direct student work at every secondary and middle school and numerous elementary schools, and previous governance-board service. [114]
His campaign reports over 22 years in local schools as an Indigenous Student Advocate and the district’s first Indigenous Wellness Worker, across elementary, middle and secondary levels. [113]
November 2025 minutes identify his appointment to the Indigenous Education Council through the Kelowna Métis Association. [115]
A 2014 local report identifies his work at KSS and Okanagan Mission Secondary and a Community Sport Hero Award for volunteer racquetball coaching. [116]
His biography describes sixteen years coaching racquetball, including provincial, national and World Junior competition, in addition to school-district advocacy. These are candidate-reported coaching credentials. [131]
Issue positions
Campaign proposals are attributed positions. A blank area is an information gap, never an assumed vote against an issue.
IN THE CANDIDATE’S OWN WORDS
Candidate questionnaire · September 14, 2026
Answers supplied by the candidate and published with authorization. Conditional explanations are retained. Answers about past motions are hypothetical, not recorded votes.
Read the full response, priorities and affordability proposals ↗
Learning & opportunity
Supports academic learning alongside trades, technology, arts, athletics and practical career pathways. [113]
Would preserve varied pathways through trades, technology, arts, athletics and hands-on learning, so preparation for life after school extends beyond a single academic route. [130]
School inclusion & wellbeing
Would work with trustees, staff, partner groups and the community to create safe, inclusive, welcoming schools for every student. [114]
Links safe, welcoming schools with youth mental health and collaboration among families, employees and district partners. His proposal emphasizes participation rather than a new, costed clinical-service programme. [130]
School funding
Would advocate alongside the board and municipal government for per-student school funding increases at least matching inflation. [114]
Would ask the board to advocate per-student resources reflecting enrolment growth and changing classroom needs. The priorities page does not attach a dollar request or specify which programmes would receive increases first. [130]
School accountability
Would direct residents to public board agendas, encourage questions before votes, and advocate plain-language summaries. Promises open communication and help directing families’ inquiries to the appropriate place. [114]
Recent public statements
What the candidate has said publicly, with links to the original sources.
School funding · Candidate questionnaire
Would work with the board and the BC School Trustees Association to seek provincial core funding that consistently exceeds inflation and supplemental funding that meets student needs.
Candidate-written Capital News response; separate from the OKLV questionnaire. These are campaign proposals, not verified outcomes.
Read the original source ↗School priorities in public interview · Candidate interview
Identifies per-student funding, class size, inclusion, mental-health supports and school safety as urgent concerns.
Edited public interview; candidate account.
Read the original source ↗How to read these statements
Voting record
Selected decisions, not a complete voting history. Follow each record for the full motion. Historical votes do not automatically establish current views.
No elected trustee tenure was verified. The public Indigenous Education Council minutes document a seconded motion; they do not establish an individual vote or a legislative voting record.
Amended Indigenous education budget
SD23 Indigenous Education Council
Gauthier seconded approval of the amended budget, requesting a further breakdown of programme percentages. The minutes record the motion carried, without an individual roll call.
Outcome: Carried; seconding recorded, individual vote not established
Recorded committee action, not an elected school-trustee vote.
[115]Business & finances
Public business & professional interests
Lists former presidencies of Okanagan Métis Family Services and Kelowna Masters Racquetball Association. These community roles do not establish private business ownership or personal wealth. [113]
Personal net worth
No reliable, dated net-worth disclosure was verified in the reviewed sources. Business roles, real-estate interests, public remuneration and campaign donations cannot establish personal net worth. Submit information or a correction ↗
Campaign finances
Campaign receipts and expenses are separate from personal wealth. Historical Kelowna campaign filings can be searched at Elections BC. The City lists January 15, 2027 as the 2026 campaign disclosure deadline. [8][2]
Politics & broader policy
Political alignment & party history
Political alignment unknown
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
Broader public & foreign policy
Dated personal statements, historical campaigns and organizational positions are distinguished below.
In his September 14 questionnaire, supports expanded City public transit service. Selected “Outside my role” for the other 24 municipal positions, including wards, and both affordability questions. Those answers are not support or opposition, and his transit answer is not a promise of school-board control over City transit. [114]
Review status not recorded for this section. Missing information does not establish a position. Submit information or a correction ↗
This collection is selective. It does not claim to capture every interview, speech, social post or position held over a lifetime.
Contact & follow
Public links from the candidate’s campaign or an official directory.
Not yet verified: phone. This does not mean the candidate has no account or contact channel.
Contact sources · checked September 13, 2026 (City directory base); later checks noted individually; older campaign contacts retain their original source
Campaign-linked accounts are listed as supplied by the campaign or election directory. Links and contact details can change; availability or a reply is not guaranteed.
Research gaps & questions
What still needs an answer
- The September 14 questionnaire sets an inflation benchmark for per-student funding but supplies no dollar request, allocation by service, costed platform or implementation schedule.
- The optional affiliations/interests and final-notes questions were left blank. A complete business-ownership disclosure and independently verified net worth have not been located.
- Party affiliation is unknown; it is not inferred from employment, community organizations or advocacy.
- Recently reviewed statements appear separately; individual social-post, biography and voting research remains incomplete.
Questions worth asking
Editorial questions, not statements attributed to the candidate.
- How would the inflation-linked funding goal translate into a dollar request and allocations to specific services?
- How would he measure student wellbeing and report progress on plain-language summaries and accessible board decisions?
Sources & references
9 relevant sources · original publication and review dates appear below. Nomination checked September 28, 2026. Campaign pages describe what a candidate says; official records establish recorded actions.
Photo: City of Kelowna candidate listing
View original image · Checked September 6, 2026. Photographer and reuse licence not stated on the candidate listing.
- 1City of Kelowna — officially declared 2026 candidates
Official record · Declared September 18, 2026; declaration reviewed October 1, 2026. Campaign-directory links were separately captured September 28, 2026.
kelowna.ca - 144Reviewed public statement — School funding
Campaign · October 12, 2026; reviewed October 13, 2026
kelownacapnews.com - 268Reviewed public statement — School priorities in public interview
Campaign · October 7, 2026; reviewed October 7, 2026
castanet.net - 114Richard Gauthier — submitted candidate questionnaire (public transcript)
Candidate questionnaire · Submitted September 14, 2026; reviewed and published with candidate authorization September 14, 2026
vote.oksoundsfun.com - 113Richard Gauthier — 2026 campaign and professional background
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated
richardgauthier.ca - 115SD23 Indigenous Education Council — appointments and budget, pages 6–7
Official record · November 28, 2025
indigenouseducation.sd23.bc.ca - 116KelownaNow — school advocate receives Community Sport Hero Award
Historical reporting · April 9, 2014
kelownanow.com - 131Richard Gauthier — community and coaching biography
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated; reviewed September 8, 2026
richardgauthier.ca - 130Richard Gauthier — four campaign priorities
Campaign · 2026 campaign; page undated; reviewed September 8, 2026
richardgauthier.ca