Pickering: People of Durham podcast profiles DDSB trustee candidates Khadiza Manjra, Walton Armstrong

Episode 63 of the People of Durham podcast, published Friday, features Khadiza Manjra and Walton Armstrong Jr., two candidates running for Durham District School Board (DDSB) trustee in Pickering in the October 26 municipal election. Manjra is a municipal case worker of more than 20 years and coaches girls' ball hockey and softball; Armstrong was born and raised in Durham, in Oshawa and Ajax, and works as a youth pastor mentoring young people across the region.

In the conversation, the pair discuss what parents are telling them at the door: STEM and extracurricular programs, Chromebooks and AI in homework, teacher stress and classroom behaviour, and keeping parents informed about school safety. They also explain what a school trustee actually does, and talk about overcrowded Pickering schools, portables, and long bus rides.

Pickering voters elect two DDSB trustees on a city-wide basis, with six candidates in the race. The podcast says it shares conversations with candidates to help residents get to know them, does not endorse any candidate, and that the views shared are the guests' own. Election day is Monday, Oct. 26, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Pickering online voting runs from Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. to Oct. 26 at 8 p.m.