A group of candidates is campaigning together to share the work that is required to run for Maple Ridge council in the Oct. 20 election.
The candidates say they’re not an election team or a slate, but have united views on issues.
Chelsa Meadus’s Facebook page shares a picture showing her with Judy Dueck and Ryan Svendsen after knocking on doors on Sunday.
“Together we will do better,” Meadus said.
Last week, she posted another photo with Don Mitchell, Svendsen and Dueck, with Meadus saying, “this is an amazing group of candidates.”
On Monday, another group got together at a seniors centre open house, with Mike Murray, an incumbent school board candidate, and Maple Ridge council candidates Susan Carr, Ahmed Yousef, Meadus, Mitchell and Dueck all at the event that afternoon.
Meadus said when she ran in the 2014 election and campaigned by herself, it was challenging to try to reach 13,000 homes.
By pooling efforts and sharing the workload for delivering flyers or planning events with other candidates, “it makes the work a little bit easier if you can get it done, because we tend to agree on a lot of things, it makes it easier to talk to the public and we’re somewhat consistent in our messaging.”
She said if people are voting for her, her philosophies align with Mitchell and Dueck.
But she’s not supporting any one of the five candidates for mayor.
“There’s enough to do to focus on yourself and your campaign, versus getting involved with that stuff.
Dueck said several candidates are helping each other with brochures.
“We’re not doing anything that people aren’t able to join in on. We’re just organizing things because there’s not a lot of opportunities to meet people.”
She added that a slate means candidates having consistent branding and identical positions on issues, which is not the case with her and the others.
“None of that is going on,” Dueck said, who’s supporting mayoralty candidate Ernie Daykin.
“There’s not one defined group,” said Yousef. “We’re not a team. We’re not allied. We’re simply like-minded individuals who appreciate each other’s points of views, who can work with one another who come to the table with an open mind … who can have a dialogue in a constructive manner.”
He said there’s no plan for the campaign going forward. Others can join in on the events, he added.
Yousef said he’s not supporting any candidate for mayor.
Another group of candidates, among them Chris Bossley, has been endorsed by the Maple Ridge New Westminster and District Labour Council.
“I value their endorsement,” added Bossley.
Craig Speirs, who’s running for mayor, along with Kiersten Duncan, Rysa Kronebusch and Bossley have all been endorsed by the labour council. But the group isn’t a slate and Bossley said the candidates are each doing their own thing.
“I’m willing to work with whoever else is elected,” Bossley said, although she supports Speirs’s approach to homelessness.
She said that only when there’s adequate housing for everyone in Anita Place Tent City should the camp be shut down.
Bossley also shared posts from Speirs and Duncan on her Facebook page.