Candidates starting to come out of the woodwork

Jeff Green | Jul 29, 2010

With the deadline for nominations still six weeks away, a contested election for at least one council seat in North Frontenac is now assured.

Ward 2, the former township of Clarendon and Miller, now has three candidates for two seats on Council. Incumbent Elaine Gunsinger is seeking election (she was appointed when the late Wayne Cole stepped down), and former councilor Betty Hunter is running as well. Hunter ran for mayor last time out. Paul Thiel, a newcomer to North Frontenac politics, has put his name forward as well. Also of yet, only incumbents Fred Perry (ward 1) and Bob Olmstead (ward 2) are running, and the only mayoral candidate is Jim Beam.

In Addington Highlands, Lawrence (Larry) Pealow has announced for Council in Ward 2, joining Bill Cox. Reeve Henry Hogg is also seeking re-election. No candidates for the two seats in ward 1 have come forward as of yet.

In Central Frontenac, there are now candidates in all four wards, but the only race that is under way is the one for mayor between Incumbent Janet Gutowski and former Kennebec councilor Logan Murray.

Justin Gray recently put in his papers, making him the first candidate for the two Olden seats. Tom Dewey is the only candidate for Kennebec, and Wayne Millar and Richard (Rick) Greenstreet are both seeking the seats in Oso district. Philip Smith from Hinchinbrooke is the only incumbent member of council who has put his name forward thus far, and Anne Goodfellow is seeking another term as school board trustee for North and Central Frontenac and Addington Highlands.

There have been no new nominations in South Frontenac over the last three weeks, but as we reported on July 8, there are already enough candidates to ensure a contested election in all districts and for mayor and school board trustee in that township. For a complete list, go to township.southfrontenac.on.ca and click on the municipal elections tab in the middle of the list on the right hand side of the page.

In Tay Valley Township, it looks like there will be a race in Sherbrooke Ward (where Maberly is located) as Incumbent Roxanne Darling, former councilor Mark Burnham, and Dave Campbell have already come forward. Keith Kerr is seeking re-election as reeve and Susan Freeman as deputy reeve. They are uncontested thus far.

In contentious Lanark Highlands, where a split council has been in place for four years and the staff have recently been certified by OPSEU, there are no candidates thus far in ward 6, where Elphin and McDonalds Corners are located, and no candidates for mayor. There is at least one candidate in each of the other five wards. There is one council seat per ward in Lanark Highlands.

Nominations close on September 10 in all municipalities in Ontario, and until that time candidates can enter the race, drop out, or switch from seeking a council seat or mayor/reeve position.