KAMLOOPS — On Wednesday nominations opened for for this fall’s municipal byelection scheduled to take place September 30th.
There are currently four candidates vying for the Mayor’s position and 13 vying for a seat on city council.
As of Wednesday morning one mayoral hopeful and three city council candidates had submitted their nomination packages.
“The nomination period officially started on Tuesday August 15th at 9 a.m. and officially closes Friday, August 25th at 4 p.m.,” said Cindy Kennedy, Chief Election Officer with the City of Kamloops.
So far, long time city councillor Ken Christian is the only person to submit his nomination papers in the mayor’s race.
“We were able to file our nomination papers Tuesday at 9 a.m, first in the gate,” said Christian.
With just six weeks to go until the byelection, Christian says he and his team are gearing up for what’s expected to be an action-packed September.
“There’s a lot of things in terms of fundraising, ordering all of the signs and pamplets that we will need to get our message across and the opportunity to organize in terms of identifying voters and that kind of activity,” added Christian. “We’re gearing up to go door-to-door after Labour Day.”
Earlier this week CFJC columnist Bill McQuarrie announced his intention to run for City Hall’s top job, saying the proposed KGHM-Ajaxmine was the main decider in entering the political race.
“Its become the key issue, we’ve ignored everything else,” said McQuarrie. “At that time point I thought it’s time to consider running for mayor. We need change.”
Air ambulance medic Todd McLeod is another one of this year’s mayoral hopefuls.
McLeod says he intends to file his nomination papers next week , adding voters can expect a fresh, innovative election platform.
“I’m definitely going to be hitting the streets and talking to as many people as I can,” said McLeod. “I’ve been reaching out on Facebook asking people for their input and when I become mayor I”m going to continue to do such.”
Leonard Seigo is the most recent resident to show interest in the mayors seat.
The Kamloops resident picked up an application at City Hall Wednesday morning.
“There’s four individuals, so I’ll be the fifth to throw my papers in,” said Seigo. “All the candidates are very confident people as I am myself. I ran for MLA in the North, I’ve also worked in the courts.”
Seigo says if elected his top priority would be changing city bylaws and improving esthetic conditions on the North Shore.
Who will in fact become the next leader of our city will be decided September 30th.
