Candidate for School Board Trustee — Zone 6, CECCE
VOTEMonday, October 26, 2026
David Elisma
Vote for our schools, with parents first. Our Catholic values. Our young people in school.
Collège catholique Samuel-Genest, École élémentaire catholique Au Cœur d'Ottawa, École élémentaire catholique Horizon-Jeunesse, École élémentaire catholique Lamoureux, École élémentaire catholique Sainte-Anne, École élémentaire catholique Saint-François-d'Assise, École secondaire catholique Saint-Jean-Baptiste
The mechanism
Breaking the 'default'
The Assessment Act assigns every property a school support designation. Without an explicit request from the ratepayer, the default designation does not come back to our French Catholic system. One box, ticked on your behalf, decides where your vote goes.
Illustration: the school support field on the property assessment roll, with its four designations.
School support
An election few people know about
On October 26, you also elect your school board trustee
On October 26, the ballot does not stop at the mayor. You also choose the person who represents you on the school board. The board votes on the budget, the policies and the services of the schools in your neighbourhood.
I believe a trustee must also sit for those who cannot take a seat at the table. For the children, the parents who do not live in the neighbourhood of their child's school, and the staff members who work in Zone 6 and do not necessarily live here.
My three priorities
A forward-looking voice committed to educational excellence, the vitality of the francophonie, and the flourishing of Catholic values. Every parent and every taxpayer is an essential shareholder in our young people's success.
Parents first
Parents are the first educators of their children. Published criteria for school materials, budgets you can read, and open communication with the home. The choice of materials stays professional work, done by qualified staff. What changes is transparency.
Read my commitments — Parents firstLiving our Catholic values
Schools that stand by their faith, taught with rigour, inside the Ontario curriculum. A school climate where every student, without exception, feels welcomed, loved and safe.
Read my commitments — Living our Catholic valuesKeeping our young people in school
Attendance, high standards and strong French. Against dropping out and cyberbullying. A student who is often absent or who falls behind can still be caught up, provided we see it in time. I want the board to follow those signals closely and act early.
Read my commitments — Keeping our young people in school
To make your voice count: check your school support designation
Your school support designation says which school board you are attached to for voting. By default, it is the English-language public system.
Same bill, same amount; what changes is your right to vote for the CECCE. Owner, tenant or occupant: if you pay taxes, you can vote for the CECCE when your school support designation allows it.
Advance voting: Friday, October 16. Voting day: Monday, October 26. From 10 am to 8 pm.
Rideau-Vanier, Somerset, Kitchissippi, Capitale
This election concerns you
Parent of a student, resident with no child in school, or school staff: on October 26, you also elect your school board trustee.
Forecourt Park and the schoolyard that isn't one
Au Cœur d'Ottawa moves into the Deschâtelets building in January 2027. The park in front of it is being designed now, and the City has not yet published a summary of its consultation.
Who Can't Be at the Table
David Elisma recounts how a moment at Festi-Mosaïque reminded him why he is running for the CECCE, in Zone 6, as the school year approaches.
Get involved
Join the team and be part of the story. Your voice matters so much!
Breaking the "default" — your vote, your voice