A heated confrontation involving Richmond school trustee candidate Debbie Tablotney occurred after an RDPA debate and meet-and-greet on Sept. 29 at McRoberts secondary.
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Richmond school trustee candidate Debbie Tablotney was involved in a heated confrontation with an attendee after an RDPA “Debate/Meet-and-greet” event on Tuesday evening, according to a witness and RDPA’s vice-president.
The event was hosted by the Richmond District Parents Association (RDPA) on Sept. 29 at McRoberts secondary. It was designed mainly for parents and students to hear each candidate’s priorities ahead of the Oct. 17 school trustee election, including time to ask questions and meet candidates afterward.
Connie Huang, vice-president of RDPA, said RDPA volunteers responded quickly and stepped in to separate Tablotney and the attendee. Huang said the topic of the disagreement was unknown to her and she could not confirm whether it was connected to a SOGI (Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity) question that was asked during the earlier question period.
“Our priority at that moment was to separate the individuals and ensure that Debbie Tablotney could leave the venue safely. We accompanied her the rest of the night until she got in her vehicle,” Huang said.
Tablotney later gave the News a different account of the interaction. She said she was not accompanied to her car and that the man who approached her after the event was the same person who asked a SOGI-related question during the question-and-answer period.
Tablotney said the attendee was “quite aggressive” when asking the question and that she told him she could speak with him after the event because candidates were limited by the event’s time rules. She said that after the event he became more aggressive, moved toward her, and that candidates David Yang and Martin Li stepped between them and told him to “back off.”
The event’s moderator also intervened and asked the man to leave, and security came over. Tablotney said there was no scuffle and that the attendee was told to leave.
When asked whether she felt unsafe at any point during the interaction, Tablotney said no, adding that the attendee “was just angry” and that, in her view, he was unlikely to punch her.
The RDPA event drew 24 of 28 trustee hopefuls. After opening remarks from RDPA, candidates each delivered three-minute introductions, followed by five yes-or-no questions asked to all candidates, and then questions from attendees on the floor.
During the attendee question period, attendee Steven Qian asked a question tied to policy 106 and parents’ involvement regarding children’s sexual orientation and gender identity. Candidates Hongyun Chen, Vivien Lee, Willy Sinconegue, Dean Billings and Kay Hale each outwardly said yes to Qian’s question.
Chen said parents should “definitely know” about the “sexual orientation issue” and should “definitely be involved,” while Lee said a change to policy was not about taking children’s freedom away, but about “protecting parent-child relationships and restoring parental authority.” Lee also said it discourages teenagers from using gender identity to identify themselves and that once children turn 19 they can “make their own choice.”
Hale, described as teetering between yes and no, agreed that children at a younger age “don’t have to be consulted” and said “parents should be advised.”
In contrast, Tablotney told Qian she would answer neither yes nor no. She said the policy does not state that parents do not have the right to know these things and that the policy keeps a child’s name and gender private unless the child or the parent has given permission, adding that she did not think the policy needed changing.
After asking their questions, attendees were asked to sit down and wait until the event ended to continue discussion. Other questions raised during the event included whether candidates supported more lunch meals for students and bringing back competition medals during sport days.
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