Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows recently elected many new faces as mayors, councilors and school board trustees. But two faces in particular have now become some of the province’s youngest elected officials.

Gabe Liosis, 21, of Maple Ridge, and Hudson Campbell, 20, of Pitt Meadows both successfully entered the school board as trustees in the Oct. 15 election.

But even before they both became B.C.’s youngest officials, they had already developed a close working relationship as members of MPP Lisa Beare’s staff, which Campbell says is at their advantage as new administrators.

“Gabe and I can call the province fairly quickly, which puts us in a unique position,” he said.

By being the youngest voices in city government, Liosis and Campbell hope to bring a unique perspective that better aligns with what today’s students want.

Just a few years ago, these two new administrators were themselves high school students who often took the opportunity to talk with the administrators of the day.

Campbell remembers defending the school board when he was just 13 years old. And as he recalls, the experience was truly eye-opening.

“[I] believed there was a disconnect between district staff and students after being asked to attend the first council meeting,” Campbell said.

But now that he’s better able to influence change, Campbell says he’s ready to get to work.

“Being able to work alongside those I have met for so many years will be an exciting and much needed change,” he said.

While Liosis and Campbell campaigned on many of the same issues, Campbell specifically emphasized the need for a new high school in Pitt Meadows. He also made it clear that he wanted to start holding council meetings again in schools, which he said was a practice from when he was a student, which has since been stopped.

School board administrator may not be the end goal of Campbell’s political career, but at just 20, he was unwilling to make any promises about what his political future held for him. Instead, he focuses on what will happen in the next term.

“I’m really excited for the next four years.”