Nomination day for the upcoming municipal election is right around the corner.
As this goes to print, there are 32 days left for candidates to make up their minds, collect a minimum of five signatures from eligible voters, fill out the necessary paperwork and submit the whole package to Beryl Cahill at the municipality.
Even with so little time remaining, current councillors and interested candidates are keeping their cards close to their chests.
Couns. Brenda Zinck, Mike Day and Gilbert Wall have all announced their names will not stand for reelection, leaving Coun. Rico Damota as the only existing member of council to confirm his name will be on the Oct. 21 ballot.
Couns. Brian Skehill and Dwain Wacko, as well as Mayor Richard Ireland have left it open, saying they haven’t yet made up their minds.
Similarly, a few community members have made slight rumblings that they’re giving it some serious thought, but no one has outright said, “Count me in”—not yet anyway.
In the 2010 municipal election, there were 11 candidates vying for six council seats and two candidates running for mayor. It would be fantastic to see a similar turnout again this year.
But if we were to judge the excitement of October’s election on what we know today, it would seem it’s going to be fairly lacklustre. In fact, if the few who are rumbling and the few who are humming and hawing are the only community members to put their names forward, Jasper might not even need an election this year. Instead, our council might just be elected by acclamation.
Now, of course, it’s important to note there is no rule that says candidates must state their intentions ahead of nomination day. So, for all we know there are hoards of people with papers already filled out and waiting for the day. But for now, as everyone keeps their lips sealed, there’s no way to tell.
That leaves Sept. 5 as a day to look forward to, as it might just shed some light on who’s giving public office some thought.
That day, the Jasper Park Chamber of Commerce holds its first election event—an information session for community members interested in learning what it means to be a town councillor.
The breakfast meeting is open to the public and will include a panel of former and current councils, who will answer questions and talk about their experiences in municipal politics.
We hope to see many new faces at the table that day and we hope in the coming weeks to hear from residents who intend to run.
It sure would be a shame if there was no choice for Jasperites on Oct. 21.
