‘I made it’: Simon Cui is new YRDSB trustee for Richmond Hill Wards 1, 2, 4

Cui won landslide victory with 1,825 votes

Yorkregion.com
October 21, 2020
Sheila Wang

Richmond Hill resident Simon Cui won the 2020 York Region District School Board byelection, filling the vacant seat of the trustee for Richmond Hill Wards 1, 2 and 4.

The city announced the official, certified results for the 15 candidates on Oct. 20 in a news release.

The results show Cui won a landslide victory with 1,825 votes, almost three times as many as runner-up Martin Buckingham received.

"I’m excited," Cui said. "It took me a lot of effort and I made it."

Cui thanked his family, neighbours and the community, which he said he worked closely with.

It was the second time the Richmond Hill resident had run for the position, as he was defeated two years ago by Corrie McBain, who resigned mid-term.

Cui, a father of two children, has made a name in the Chinese community of Richmond Hill as the "village head" for his volunteer work and community-building efforts over the past years.

With a master's degree in computer science, Cui said he volunteered as a tutor for children in several subjects including French, English, and mathematics in his spare time.

Cui said one of his goals would be building up a communication channel between students’ parents and the school board to facilitate the exchange of information.

The new trustee will start in November and serve the rest of the present term, ending on Nov. 14, 2022.

The byelection that ran from Oct. 14 to Oct. 19 online was the first election conducted electronically in Richmond Hill.