Some candidates running for office in Vancouver’s civic election next month scored a big win Friday. OneCity candidates Iona Bonamis and Christopher Lee were among seven people who handed in their nomination papers with both English and Chinese names. Municipal election candidates are allowed to have their “usual” names displayed on the ballot, but authorities have sought to limit the use of non-Latin characters in the past. On Friday, a provincial court judge ruled that the city must allow the seven candidates to display both English and Chinese names on the ballot. “We’re very excited today that we won,” said Bonamis at a news conference Friday afternoon. “From now on, anybody who wants to have their traditional name—a name that was given to them at birth—be on an election ballot, they can do that. This is an amazing win for many of us who live bicultural lives.” Friday’s ruling took effect shortly before the city’s random ballot draw, which determines the order in which the candidates’ names are displayed to voters. Bonamis and Lee will appear as “Iona Bonamis 陶思穎” and “Christopher Lee 李基鵬,” respectively. Bonamis is one of 56 candidates for 10 seats on city council, while Lee is one of 31 candidates for school board trustee. In total, there are 130 names on the ballot this year, including eight candidates for mayor, 56 for council, 35 for park board and 31 for school board.
