Trevor Barry for SD61 Trustee for Saanich (GVSD electoral area)

You can also download my candidate pamphlet flyer [PDF]

NEW - Trusted References. Click here to see what others have to say.

Trevor will be... [providing perspective, Saanich perspectives]

• a parent of elementary, middle & secondary school students across this 4-year term
• a music parent, community coach, K-12 guest lecturer, and an external music teacher
• following in the footsteps of his great-grandfather (Judge Charles Edward Barry II, a school board trustee in the Fraser Canyon in the 1970s)
• one step closer to his original career path to be a chemistry and history teacher in high school
• a 6th-generation settler society British Columbian with some Salish Indigenous ancestry
• a community user of SD61 assets, such as gymnasiums and sports fields - both as a recreational athlete and a youth club sports parent
• a public policy expert in the areas of energy, sustainability, capital planning, asset management, transportation, reconciliation & justice
• an aspiring student of public administration in the areas of human resources, contract management, education, child psychology and artificial intelligence
• committed to open dialogue, honest debate, transparent budget accounting and decision-making
• likely very collegial and friendly with elected leaders in Saanich & Victoria, supporting better public engagement, dialogue and collaboration partnerships
• a vocal proponent of music education, climate action leadership opportunities, and cautious policy-making with respect to smart-tech, screens and AI in the classroom

My policy platform for this 2026 Saanich election campaign for SD61 trustee - click here

...A trusty Trustee [experience]

• experience on the District PAC, having acted as VCPAC's executive treasurer
• served as the President/Chair of many local groups, including Saanich Community Association Network (SCAN)
• served on other local advisory groups including SD61's working group on Climate, and Saanich's committees for Transportation, Parks, Uptown, etc.
• familiar with legislative procedures, Robert's Rules of Order, local government agendas and minutes, and spending years of Monday nights attending meetings
• former member, Rogers Society: a parent-governed not-for-profit childcare provider and lease-holder at an SD61 facility immediately adjacent to an elementary school
• as a former student body president, serial extracurricular activity participant and provincial scholarship recipient in high school -- as well as a university student involved in campus life, residence hall leadership and student affairs -- my own lived experiences in academia will make up for not yet having older teenagers navigating between systems
• also, as the son of an automotive mechanic and small business owner, I learned the trade and I value youth preparing for a vocational journey; in fact, when my dad passed away suddenly a few years ago, I helped operate, manage and ultimately sell that local business, maintaining payroll, and risk-managing PR, HR and accounts payable
• and with experience as a GHG Accountant and society treasurer, I understand ledgers & budgets and will demand transparency and accountability - after all, it is your money, it's the same size as Saanich Council's, and it's for our children!

You can read my professional & community resumes at TrevorBarry.ca

Endorsements?

This is a tricky issue. I generally shy away from such promotions, because I want the focus of my persuasion to be in the two-way conversations at the door, the PAC events, the ACMs, and -- naively -- letting my decades of volunteer service (and "dad life") speak for itself. Having said that, when I ran for council I was thrilled to enjoy vocal support from many diverse Saanich leaders, including four official endorsements by ballot-name politicians: Rebecca Mersereau, Elizabeth May, Ned Taylor and Rob Wickson. But listing such endorsements always takes on some risk that voters will see you as "in league" with them, or worse, "controlled by a slate" (friends of mine who are running / have ran with electoral organisations also navigate these troubled waters; and all three mayoral candidates this year have been painted with this brush in one way or another). 

Having said that, I did participate -- in good faith -- with labour union executive endorsement interview processes this summer. And I'm glad I did: I learned so much about that world (especially via the VLC survey), and moreover, so much about the issues (especially via the GVTA / 61 teachers union). 

I was ultimately NOT selected on the labour endorsement lists, which traditionally makes the task of getting elected to trustee a much steeper hill to climb. And you can understand why: trustee elections are less prominent in voters' minds (especially this year during a snap provincial writ drop!) Plus any list is better than "winging it" when you are trying to avoid the 'least desirable' candidates. 

Luckily, with only 4 of us to choose from this year, this isn't really a concern (although, you do have a very large menu at the councillor cafe, good luck with that!).

I'd like to state that I will be thrilled to work alongside any one of my fellow "competitors" Darren, Tracy, Samantha.  None of us is fringe, and we all bring different value, unique characteristics, and helpful knowledge, backgrounds, expertise and lived-experience to the table.

Trusted References

I'm thrilled to receive both of these leaders' (former competitors) nods of approval:

• Dean Murdock
  • Outgoing Saanich Mayor (2022-2026)
  • Formerly Saanich Councillor (2008-2018)

Dean and I worked together a little bit a decade ago as public servants: He at ministries of Health & Transportation, myself at Climate Action secretariat. But mostly, I followed Dean's career as a councillor, including how he balanced fatherhood and coparenting. In 2018, when he first stepped away from politics, he was kind enough to have coffee with me, twice, as I started getting curious about running for office "some day". Since then, our paths crossed more and more often, and I am so grateful for that. I want to also take this opportunity to thank Dean for all his tremendous amount of public service. Thanks, Your Worship. 

I will be so appreciative to continue to receive both of these men's mentorship in the future as another aspiring Saanich Leader.

• Fred Haynes 
  • Former Saanich Mayor (2018-2022)
  • Formerly Saanich Councillor (2014-2018) 

I first officially met Fred in 2018 when he was running for office against my friend Rob Wickson in that competitive 3-way mayors race in Saanich. I was a political neophyte (still am!) and perhaps unsurprisingly, our initial years were somewhat confrontational, although always cordial. But after years of Monday nights watching him chair meetings, I also came to strongly admire Fred's deep sense of duty, and magnificent brain for details. I was surprised when Fred lost to Dean, to tell you the truth. But the silver lining on that 2022 council election defeat for both of us, was that a friendship started to grow. I can't tell you how appreciative I have been to meet with Fred for breakfast annually to discuss community issues.  I hope we can keep it up!