Municipal ballots are now set as nomination window closes
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
The ballots are now set for the Oct. 24 municipal election, with nominations closing last Friday and candidates being certified early this week.
In Morris-Turnberry, incumbent Mayor Jamie Heffer has been acclaimed to return to his position.
Current Deputy-Mayor Sharen Zinn has filed to be a councillor once again (in Morris-Turnberry, the deputy-mayor is awarded from within council to the councillor who receives the most votes in the municipal election). Incumbent Councillors Kevin Freiburger and Jamie McCallum have also filed in hopes of returning to their positions, while newcomers Christopher R. Michie, Jodi Snell and Dale McFarlan have also filed for the four available councillor seats.
In Huron East, incumbent Mayor Bernie MacLellan has put his name forward to again fill his position. Newcomer Nancy Craig is contesting him, having filed to be Huron East’s next mayor on June 1.
Aside from the mayoral race, many of the positions have already been filled by way of acclamation.
Incumbent Tuckersmith Ward Councillors Ray Chartrand and Larry McGrath have both been acclaimed and will return to their positions. This is also the case in McKillop with incumbent Councillors Gloria Wilbee and Brenda Dalton returning.
In Brussels, incumbent Councillor Justin Morrison has been acclaimed to one of the two spots, while newcomer Jeff Newell has also been acclaimed. Incumbent Councillor Zoellyn Onn had filed to return to her position on Aug. 10, but then withdrew her application on Aug. 19.
In Seaforth, current Deputy-Mayor Bob Fisher has been acclaimed to return to his position as a Seaforth Ward Councillor (deputy-mayor is chosen by council from among elected councillors), while newcomer John Steffler has also been acclaimed. John is the son of incumbent Seaforth Councillor and former Deputy-Mayor Joe Steffler, who chose not to run again.
There will be an election in the Grey Ward, however, with incumbent Councillors Alvin McLellan and Dianne Diehl being challenged for one of their positions by newcomer Curtis McKinnon.
Four men are vying for the North Huron Reeve position: incumbent Reeve Bernie Bailey, current Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip, current Wingham Ward Councillor Paul Heffer and newcomer Ranko Markeljevic.
Incumbent Blyth Ward Councillors Kevin Falconer and Ric McBurney have both been acclaimed and will return to their positions this October.
There will, however, be elections in both the Wingham and East Wawanosh Wards.
Incumbent East Wawanosh Councillors Anita van Hittersum and Chris Palmer are being challenged by newcomer Kelly Tiffin.
In Wingham, the township is guaranteed a new slate of councillors as both current representatives are running for reeve. Stacey Boyd, Mitch Wright, Lonnie Whitfield, Tanya Jane Williams, Amy Schiestel and Stephen Hill are all running for two Wingham Ward Councillor positions.
Incumbent Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn will tangle with his current Deputy-Mayor Dave Jewitt in hopes of earning the top spot. Long-time Central Huron East Ward Councillor Marg Anderson will contest newcomer Jared Petteplace for the deputy-mayor position.
Incumbent West Ward Councillors Alison Lobb and Michael Russo and Adam Robinson have all been acclaimed to return to their positions. There will be an election in the East Ward, however, as incumbent Councillors Danny Colquhoun will be contested by newcomers Jennifer Cox, Jeffery Scholl, Allan Peel and Everett Smith have all filed paperwork in hopes of earning one of three East Ward Councillor spots.
In Goderich, incumbent Mayor John Grace had filed to return to his position on June 30 before his untimely death as the result of a boating incident in Northern Ontario. Incumbent Deputy-Mayor Myles Murdock had filed to return to his position, but has since changed his filing, seeking a step-up to the mayoral position. He will be challenged by current Councillor Matt Hoy, who registered for the position on Aug. 17.
Current Councillor Trevor Bazinet has filed for the deputy-mayor position. He will be challenged by his fellow incumbent Councillor Stephen Tamming.
Incumbent Councillor Shawn Thomson has filed in hopes of returning to his position. He is one of nine people who have come forward in hopes of winning one of the five available councillor positions. Liz Petrie, Allison Segeren, John Thompson, Randy Carroll, Madeleine Beck, Leah Nöel, Katrina Bos and Chapin Korosec have all filed paperwork to run for council in Goderich.
Everyone who put their name forward in Howick has been acclaimed.
Incumbent Reeve Doug Harding will return to his position, while current Councillor Megan Gibson has been acclaimed to the deputy-reeve position.
Incumbent Councillors Doug Hargrave and Marvin Grimes have both been acclaimed to return to their positions, while Rosemary Rognvaldson has been acclaimed to the third councillor position. She ran for reeve in 2018, but lost to Harding.
Incumbent Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh (ACW) Mayor and Huron County Warden Glen McNeil has been acclaimed to return to his municipal position.
Incumbent Deputy-Mayor Roger Watt and current Councillor Bill Vanstone are both seeking the deputy-mayor position.
In ACW, eight people are running for five councillor seats, including incumbents Jennifer Miltenburg, Anita Snobelen, Gloria Fisher and Wayne Forster. They are joined by newcomers Curtis Blake, Evan Hickey, Peter McKee and Patti Wilkins.
In South Huron, incumbent Mayor George Finch will be contested by former Mayor Maureen Cole, whom he defeated in the 2018 election.
Incumbent Deputy-Mayor Jim Dietrich has put his name forward again. He will be challenged by Karen Brown for the position.
Incumbent Councillors Marissa Vaughan and Dianne Faubert, as well as newcomers John Pond, (Norris) Wayne Desjardine, Sheila Preszcator, Wendy McLeod-Haggitt, Milt Dietrich and Philip Van Raay have all filed for two Ward 1 - Stephen councillor positions.
In Ward 2 - Exeter, incumbent Councillors Aaron Neeb and Barb Ferguson Willard have filed for two councillor positions. They are joined by Marc Denomme, who is also running. Incumbent Ted Oke has been acclaimed to return to the one Ward 3 - Usborne councillor seat.
In Bluewater, Mayor Paul Klopp has been acclaimed to another term in the municipality’s top position.
Bayfield Ward Councillor Bill Whetstone has been acclaimed, as has Scott Harris for Hensall Ward Councillor, Joseph K. Groot for Hay East Ward Councillor, Tyler Hessel for Hay West Ward Councillor and Peter Gordon Walden for Stanley East Ward Councillor.
Incumbent Hay East Ward Councillor John Becker and Hay West Ward Councillor Alwyn Vanden Berg are both running for the deputy-mayor position.
Winona Bailey and incumbent Shawn LaPorte have put their names forward in hopes of earning the Zurich Ward Councillor position, while incumbent Stanley West Ward Councillor George Irvin will be challenged by Greg Lamport for the position.
SCHOOL BOARDS
Ray Berg, Patricia Elaine Smith and Michel Starenky have all put their names forward to be a school board trustee for the Avon Maitland District School Board for the region serving North Huron.
Incumbent Robert Hunking has withdrawn his nomination to return as the Avon Maitland District School Board trustee for the region serving Huron East and Central Huron, leaving voters to decide between Deborah Logue and Dennis Valenta.
Hunking did, however, register to be the next trustee serving the Bluewater and South Huron areas and has been acclaimed to that position.
Joseph Cohen has been acclaimed to the Avon Maitland District School Board trustee position serving the Goderich and Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh areas.
Jim McDade has been acclaimed to return to his position with the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board, serving Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, North Huron, Howick, Central Huron, Morris-Turnberry and Goderich. Amy Cronin has also been acclaimed to return to her trustee position within the board, serving the areas of Huron East, Perth East and North Perth and Sue Muller has been acclaimed to the trustee position serving South Huron and Bluewater.
David O’Hara and Joseph Vandermeer have both filed to be a trustee for the area’s representation on the Conseil Scolaire Viamonde (the French public school board), while Sylvie C. Barbeau-Chmielewski and Meghan Reale have both filed to be the next trustee for the Conseil Scolaire Catholique Providence (the French Catholic board).