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SURREY Civic Coalition candidates Rina Gill (council), Stephanie Ryan (council) and Ram Sidhu (school trustee) are all under the age of 35 with different dynamics in their personal and professional lives.
Here are their interesting backgrounds and what they stand for:

RINA GILL

“I am a young business woman and community volunteer with abundant energy and fresh ideas.  Surrey has many diverse communities and my vision is to nurture neighbourhoods by better engaging the public.”

Rina, who came very close to being elected in 2008 with 18,888 votes and missed by just one spot,  is an ambitious well-connected small business owner who is very active in the community through extensive volunteer work with various organizations, events and charities. After building up years of work experience, Rina started her own marketing company in the fall of 2007. Around the same time, she launched the Indo Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) – Vancouver Business Council and became the National Director of B.C. Operations. Rina’s volunteer efforts with ICCC have allowed her to work very closely with the business community and build strong partnerships in various areas.
In June 2008, Rina received the ICCC “Member of the Year” award and took on additional responsibilities as the Vice-President of Marketing and Communications. In March 2009, she was honoured with the Shakti (Strength) Award in the Community Service category. Then in March 2010, Rina was nominated for the Surrey Board of Trade Women in Business Award in the Entrepreneur Category.
Rina continues to do a lot of community work. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Breakfast for Learning and Friends of the Museum and Archives Society. She is also a member of the PICS Women’s Housing Advisory Board, Surrey Heritage Society and the VIBC Community Engagement Committee.
Rina got married earlier this year and lives with her husband and in-laws in Newton area of Surrey. Her family is very supportive of her ambitions of becoming a Surrey City Councillor. Rina’s key issues are: Referendum on wards system, re-zoning industrial area in Surrey to create more truck parking, allowing basement suites and deciding on large homes on a neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood basis, and working closely with the Surrey School Trustees to build more schools in Surrey.
Rina believes there should be strong opposition at every level of government, even at the municipal level.  Rina says that she, along with the SCC team, will bring balance and healthy debate back to Surrey City Council and the Surrey School Board.

STEPHANIE RYAN

“Surrey has become a have-not city and needs someone who will advocate for better transit service and get more schools built. I fully understand that planning for schools and transit becomes even more crucial as Surrey grows into BC’s second major city.”

Stephanie Ryan has lived in Surrey for 25 years and works as an organizing representative for the BCGEU. She has served on the Public Art Advisory Committee since 2008. Stephanie volunteers as a Big Sisters mentor to a 14-year-old girl in Surrey and with the Sunnyside Acres Heritage Society. She writes a regular opinion column on Surrey issues for the Georgia Straight that has been published widely.
Stephanie believes it is important that Surrey follows Smart Growth principles so that we respect our environment and make public transit more viable. She believes we must continue to protect our most precious green spaces, and that our town centres should be developed into healthy places to live, work and play.
Stephanie believes everyone must work together to get more Surrey schools built immediately, and to push Translink and Victoria for an aggressive expansion of transit service in Surrey and South of the Fraser.
Stephanie hears from people on a day-to-day basis that they are concerned they are paying more and more towards TransLink yet receiving so little in terms of service. She is opposed to tolling the Pattullo Bridge and believes the province’s tolling policy deserves a comprehensive review. Stephanie wants to see the city take a leadership role to ensure that rapid transit service is promptly expanded in Surrey.

RAM SIDHU

“As a mother of two young children, I want to ensure that our children have the best possible environment for academic and emotional development. I am committed to working together with parents, teachers, City Council and Victoria to build more schools and fix Surrey’s school crisis.”

Ram has been a resident of Surrey for the past 10 years. She’s a graduate of UBC with a degree in Political Science. Ram has worked in the non-profit sector for the past 11 years and is a strong advocate for women and children who are dealing with issues of violence, poverty and racism. She has also worked on many community-based initiatives to improve the lives of Surrey residents.
Ram is married and has two children, a son in grade one and a daughter who is a year old.  As a mother she is very concerned about the crisis of overcrowding in our schools and the negative impact it is having on our children.
She is committed to working on solutions now so our children will have access to quality education today and in the future.  Ram believes the board of education needs someone who can bring new and fresh ideas to the table to address our needs.
As a school trustee candidate, Ram says she is committed to working with parents, teachers, city council and Victoria to improve our schools. Our children deserve the best possible environment for emotional and academic success.  To achieve this we need to plan and start construction on schools now.   We need to adequately fund support staff, librarians, and counsellors so our children have the support and expertise they require to reach their potential.  Also we need to have the city council and the trustees work together to better plan neighbourhoods to prevent further overcrowding of existing schools.

Original article: http://www.asianjournal.ca/nov%2011_11/news_round2.html

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