One member of Thompson’s current council will be moving to the top spot this fall while at least five new councillors will be sworn in, the final list of mayoral, council and school board candidates reveals.
The mayoral race is a two-horse affair, with current councillors Dennis Fenske and Luke Robinson, both of whom are completing their first terms on council, in the running for the top job. One will take the crown and the other will be out of municipal government following the Oct. 22 election.
Mayor Tim Johnston is not seeking a third term. He served on council from 2002 to 2006 prior to winning election as mayor
No more than three current councillors will be back for another term, as the only incumbents seeking re-election are Penny Byer – who was first elected to council in 2010 – Judy Kolada – who is seeking a sixth consecutive term – and Brad Evenson, who is nearing the end of his first term on council.
Newcomers who could find themselves on the other side of the municipal decision-making desk after the election include Erika McCarthy, Christa Herkert, Melanie Cutler, David Erickson, Blake Ellis, Robert Chuckrey, Audrey Dufour, Dannis Foley, Kathy Valentino, Paullette Simkins, Lydia Blais, Julyda Lagimodiere, Ron Matechuk, Colleen Smook and Duncan Wong. With 18 candidates and only eight seats available, more than half of the council candidates will be disappointed come Oct. 23.
Current councillors not seeking re-election include Charlene Lafreniere (currently in her second term), Erin Hogan (who was first elected in a byelection to replace Cory Young in 2009 and re-elected in the 2010 general municipal election) and Stella Locker, the longest-serving councillor now wrapping up her seventh consecutive term since first being elected in 1989, as well as the two mayoral candidates.
On the school board side, the School District of Mystery Lake board of trustees could see less turnover than council, as four of its seven members – Guido Oliveira, Janet Brady, Vince Nowlin and Leslie Tucker – are seeking re-election, with Alexander Ashton, Sya Gregovski and Robert Pellizzaro stepping away. Seven other candidates are seeking to take a role in guiding the school district, including Ryan Land, whose removal as R.D. Parker Collegiate principal brought the board into the public consciousness in 2011, as well as Caroline Winship, Doug Krokosz, Don MacDonald Liz lychuk, Sandra Fitzpatrick and Clint Saulteaux.
The Thompson Chamber of Commerce is hosting a noon-hour debate for mayoral candidates at the Ma-Mow-We-Tak Friendship Centre on Sept. 24 and one for the council candidates on Oct. 1.
