SURREY — The Proudly Surrey slate has named two more candidates who will be seeking office in this fall’s civic election.
Felix Konguy is seeking a seat on city council and Rina Diaz-Orellana is running for school trustee.
Konguy founded the Baobab Inclusive Empowerment Society, is a founding member of the Global Peace Alliance Surrey Society and owns a small business in Surrey specializing in respite care.
“Surrey has provided my family a home and I want to give back in the best way I know how,” Konguy said. “The people of Proudly Surrey are the only civic group that truly gives voice to all our young people, be it in sports or in affordable housing.”
His running mate and slate founder, Stuart Parker, says Konguy “brings years of dedication to the people of Surrey and he has the soul of what Surrey has always been, driven, forward-thinking and civic-minded.”
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Meantime, Diaz-Orellana has served for seven years on Surrey parent advisory committees at the school and district level. She and her family came to Canada in 1989 as refugees from El Salvador and settled in Whalley in 1994. They now live in Fleetwood. Her three children are in the Surrey public school system.
| Surrey school board offices. (File photo) |
“I have had a chance to see first-hand what has happened to our schools over the last decade and I am going to make sure that the promises made by the new government in Victoria are kept, and more importantly, implemented,” Diaz-Orellana said. “It’s one thing to build new schools, but we have over 100 schools in Surrey that are in desperate need of maintenance and upgrading. This is the conversation I will be having with Surrey parents.”
Her running mate, Dean McGee, has worked with her on the Surrey District Parent Advisory Committee.
“I have always been impressed with how Rina is never afraid to ask the tough questions,” he said.
Meantime, two other new slates — Surrey Community Alliance (SCA) and People First Surrey — have materialized in Surrey that intend to challenge the reigning Surrey First party in the Oct. 20 civic election.