Valley voters have now heard about election plans from the incumbent mayors in neighbouring townships MV and BLR – both of them will not be seeking re-election as mayor. MV Mayor Kim Love (above right) confirmed her decision not to stand as a mayoral candidate at the Council in Committee meeting on Aug.2, citing “recent family health changes” as the reason “to refocus my energies and put family first.” In Palmer Rapids, BLR Mayor Sheldon Keller (shown at left, above) filed nomination papers on Aug.5 to be elected as a Councillor – not Mayor – in Ward 2. This means he will not be competing with incumbents Iris Kauffeldt and John Rutledge in Ward 1 which is the ward where he lives. (See note below).
In her statement, Mayor Love discussed the challenges and rewards of being mayor during the past eight years saying she ran because she wanted to make a difference. Thanking both Township staff and members of the two Councils she has led, she summarized some of the achievements during that time. Love also mentioned her role at County of Renfrew Council and the Rural Ontario Mayors Association. She ended her statement `as follows: “In my experience, public service is rarely easy and it’s not for the fainthearted, but you can make a difference in your community and that makes it worth it!”
A recent change to the unofficial candidates list in Madawaska Valley is the withdrawal of Kenton Biffert who had filed nomination papers to be elected as a Councillor.
With the nomination deadline of Aug.19, the list of candidates now stands at:
Madawaska Valley
Mayor: Roger Prince, Mark Willmer
Councillor: Helen Benn, Mary Blank, Carl Bromwich, Andrey Kaminski, Joseph Olsheski, Ernie Peplinski, David Shulist
School Board Trustee: David F. Kaiser (Public School Board/English), Colette Stitt (Public School Board/French), Susan Artymko, Mervin Paul Merkowski, Rose Noonan (Catholic School Board/English). No candidates have yet come forward for Catholic School Board/French.
Brudenell Lyndoch Raglan
Mayor: Valerie Jahn Councillor: Iris Kauffeldt, John Henry Rutledge (Ward 1); Sheldon Keller (Ward 2)
Editor’s note: This article was amended on Aug.9 to correctly identify the Wards in which BLR Councillor candidates are running. The Current apologizes for any confusion caused by our mistake in the original report.
Sounds like it’s time for BLR Township to eliminate that arcane ward system altogether. Looks as though one can choose to run in a different ward so they avoid competition – suppose there’s nothing to say they can’t. This particular council wanted fairness, transparency and everyone to “follow the rules” at ridiculous levels, and now we see this. Thinly-veiled cronyism I suppose. They were crying for unity here in this municipality a while back, so this would be a great place to start.