As candidate lists are finalized, new candidates for Kamloops mayor emerge

There are 29 candidates listed for Kamloops council – including seven incumbents.

Merritt mayor Mike Goetz is being challenged this year by Gordon Keyser. All six incumbent councillors in Merritt are running for re-election, with two challengers added to the mix.

In Cache Creek, incumbent John Ranta, who announced his decision not to seek another term in spring, has apparently had a change of heart. Ranta is listed among three candidates for mayor of the village, along with former councillors Annette Pittman and Wendy Coomber.

There are four people vying for the mayor’s seat in Chase as incumbent David Lepsoe will go up against Tristan Cavers, Carson Trowsse and Tanja Wilson.

Barbara Roden will seek to retain the mayor’s gavel in Ashcroft, going up against Eric Poole.

Incumbent Surinderpal Rathor has competition from a familiar face in Williams Lake – former mayor Walt Cobb.

In Clearwater, councillor Shelley Sim will challenge incumbent Merlin Blackwell for the mayor’s chair. Sim is also running to maintain her seat on the Kamloops-Thompson School District Board of Education, a dual elected status once held by former Clearwater mayor John Harwood.

100 Mile House Mayor Maureen Pinkney will have competition in her bid for re-election from David Jurek.

Lytton mayor Denise O’Connor will have a contest, battling it out against councillor Jennifer Thoss.

There will be no mayoral votes in Barriere, where incumbent Rob Kerslake will be acclaimed, and in Logan Lake, where Robin Smith will be back for another term.

Roland Stanke is also set to be returned in Clinton, but the village has had to extend the nomination period to Monday (Sept. 14) as only three incumbens – Sandi Burrage, Darrel Schhpansky and Nicholas Kosovic – stepped up for the four councillors seats.

Sun Peaks will not hold a mayoral election, either, with the only name on the ballot belonging to race car driver Jason White. Incumbent mayor Rob O’Toole has decided to run for a seat on council.

Residents of Salmon Arm will have two people to choose from as incumbent Alan Harrison is set to face challenger Daniel Bardy for the mayor’s chair.

In the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, there will be elections in only two of the district’s 10 electoral areas. Incumbent Jim Smith will go up against former director Sally Watson in Area ‘E’, while incumbent Tricia Thorpe will be challenged by former director Steven Rice in Area ‘I’.

There will be a number of elections in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, including in the Falkland area, where there four candidates. Elsewhere, Marty Gibbons, who represents the Eagle Bay/Sunnybrae/Tappen area and Natalya Melnychuk in the Sorrento/Blind Bay area have been acclaimed to another term.

The CSRD has also had to extend the nomination period in the North Shuswap to 4:00 p.m. Monday (Sept. 14) as there were no candidates that filed papers as of the Friday deadline.

In the Cariboo Regional District, there will be elections in seven of the 12 electoral areas.

As for the Kamloops-Thompson School District’s (SD73) Board of Education, there are 16 candidates for five seats within the City of Kamloops – with all five incumbents running for re-election.

Outside city limits, there will be elections in the Clearwater area – with Sim up against TNRD director Lee Onslow – and in the Logan Lake area, where incumbent Cara McKelvey is being challenged by Marie McGivern.

There are five people running for the three Merritt seats on the Nicola-Similkameen School District’s (SD58) board. Two people are vying to represent Areas M and N of the TNRD, while all three people in the Princeton area will be acclaimed to office.

There will be no elections in the Gold Trail School District, as all seven seats will be filled by acclamation.

Some of the lists may change as local election officials finalize their nomination packages.

Candidates also have until 4:00 p.m. next Friday (Sept. 18) to withdraw their names. The official campaign period starts on Sept. 19, and the list of names as they will appear on the ballot will be made official by end of day Monday, Sept. 21.

For full election coverage all the way up until British Columbians head to the polls on October 17, visit cfjctoday.com.

by James Peters & Victor Kaisar

As candidate lists are finalized, new candidates for Kamloops mayor emerge

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