Municipal ballots fill in throughout Huron County

BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN

Nominations for this fall’s Oct. 24 municipal election are due to close today (Aug. 19) at 2 p.m., setting the ballots across the county for the next four-year term.

It is now a four-man race for North Huron Reeve with incumbent Wingham Ward Councillor Paul Heffer setting his sights on the township’s top job. He joins incumbent Reeve Bernie Bailey, current Deputy-Reeve Trevor Seip and newcomer Ranko Markeljevic in the hunt for the reeveship.

Incumbent East Wawanosh Ward Councillors Anita van Hittersum and Chris Palmer have both filed. Newcomer Kelly Tiffin of Belgrave has also filed paperwork in hopes of becoming one of the municipality’s two East Wawanosh councillors in the coming term.

Ric McBurney and Kevin Falconer, incumbent Blyth Ward councillors, have also filed paperwork to return to their positions.
Mitch Wright of Wingham is currently the only person who has filed to be a councillor in North Huron’s Wingham Ward.
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.

In Huron East, incumbent Mayor Bernie MacLellan has put his name forward to again fill his position, filing his paperwork on June 10. He is not running unopposed, however, as newcomer Nancy Craig  filed to be Huron East’s next mayor on June 1.
Incumbent Tuckersmith Ward Councillor Ray Chartrand filed on July 11 to return to his position. Incumbent Bob Fisher has also filed his paperwork to return as a Seaforth councillor. He is currently serving as the deputy-mayor, a position which is chosen from among elected councillors who put their name forward after the election.

Incumbent Brussels Ward Councillor Justin Morrison, who was appointed to the position following the resignation of John Lowe, has filed again in hopes of returning to the position. His Brussels Ward Councillor colleague Zoellyn Onn has also filed in hopes of returning to her position. 

Gloria Wilbee, another incumbent councillor, has also filed her paperwork in hopes of returning to her position.
In the Grey Ward, long-time Councillor Alvin McLellan has filed his paperwork to return to the position, as has fellow incumbent Councillor Dianne Diehl. Curtis McKinnon, who ran in the Grey Ward in 2018, has also put his name forward.
Single councillor candidates are needed in the Seaforth, Tuckersmith and McKillop Wards, where in each just one person has filed to fill two positions.

In the Township of Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh, Mayor Glen McNeil is hoping to return to the position for a second term. Deputy-Mayor Roger Watt has also filed to return to his position, but he will be contested by current Councillor Bill Vanstone, who has also filed to be the township’s deputy-mayor.

Incumbent Councillors Jennifer Miltenburg, Anita Snobelen, Gloria Fisher and Wayne Forster have all filed to return to their at-large councillor positions, while newcomers Patti Wilkins and Peter McKee have also filed in hopes of becoming a councillor.
Central Huron Mayor Jim Ginn made good on his June 20 promise to run again for the municipality’s top spot, filing his paperwork on June 28. Current Deputy-Mayor Dave Jewitt has also entered the mayoral race, filing his paperwork on July 18 in hopes of earning the top spot.

Long-time Central Huron East Ward Councillor Marg Anderson has put her name forward to be the municipality’s next deputy-mayor. Jared Petteplace is contesting for the position after running for the same position in 2018.

Incumbent West Ward Councillors Alison Lobb and Michael Russo, as well as East Ward Councillors Danny Colquhoun and Adam Robinson have all filed paperwork to return to their positions again this fall. Newcomers Jennifer Cox and Jeffery Scholl have also filed in hopes of becoming a councillor for Central Huron’s East Ward, while Allan Peel has his sights set on a West Ward Councillor position.

Incumbent Robert Hunking has also filed to return as the Avon Maitland District School Board trustee for the region serving Huron East and Central Huron, but he will be contested by Deborah Logue and Dennis Valenta, who has run in numerous federal and provincial elections over the years.

In Morris-Turnberry, the roster of those who have filed has remained unchanged for weeks. Incumbent Mayor Jamie Heffer put his name forward to return to his position, filing his paperwork on July 5. 

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.

In Goderich, incumbent Mayor John Grace had filed to return to his position on June 30 before his untimely death last week 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 mayor position. Current Councillor Trevor Bazinet has filed for the deputy-mayor position. 

Allison Segeren, Liz Petrie, John Thompson, Randy Carroll, Madeleine Beck, Stephen Tamming and Leah Nöel have all put their names forward for councillor positions.

Joseph Cohen has filed paperwork to be the Avon Maitland District School Board trustee serving the Goderich area. Current trustee Jim McDade has also filed to return to his position with the Huron-Perth Catholic District School Board.
In Howick, Reeve Doug Harding is seeking another term as the township’s top politician. Incumbent Councillor Megan Gibson has filed to run for the deputy-reeve position, while Marvin Grimes is seeking a return to his councillor position.

Incumbent Mayor Paul Klopp remains uncontested on his path to return to his position in Bluewater. Incumbent Hay East Ward Councillor John Becker and Hay West Ward Councillor Alwyn Vanden Berg have both filed in hopes of becoming the deputy-mayor. Two people - Winona Bailey and incumbent Shawn LaPorte - have put their names forward in hopes of earning the Zurich Ward councillor position, while incumbent Peter Walden has filed paperwork to be the councillor for the Stanley East Ward.

Incumbent Bayfield Ward Councillor Bill Whetstone is seeking a return to his position, as are Hensall Ward Councillor Scott Harris and Stanley West Ward Councillor George Irvin.

In South Huron, incumbent Mayor George Finch is hoping to return, but he will be challenged by 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 Barbara Willard have filed for two councillor positions. They are joined by Marc Denomme, who is also running. Incumbent Ted Oke has filed in the hopes of returning to the one Ward 3 - Usborne councillor seat.

See next week’s issue of The Citizen for a full list of certified candidates from across Huron County.