Chief returning officer Angela Cruickshank (left) speaks with Trish Kyle on Monday, Sept. 20 at city council chambers, nomination day for local elections that will be held on Oct. 18. Kyle was dropping off paper work for her husband, Brad Kyle, who will enter the public school trustee race. -- News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
Nomination day for Medicine Hat’s local elections ended with a flurry of new entries for the public school board race Monday morning, but just one more nominee for what is already a crowded race for eight council seats.
When Albertans go to the polls on Oct. 18, Hatters will select from 33 candidates for eight city council seats, five for mayor, and in school board races, 15 for five trustee positions with the Medicine Hat Public School Division, and seven for the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education.
Candidates have until noon on Tuesday to request they be dropped out of the race, but the election should still present a large, near-record number of choices for voters.
“It will be a very large ballot,” said Angela Cruickshank, the chief returning officer and city clerk for the city of Medicine Hat.
“I hope that engagement manifests itself in voter engagement; if there’s a lot of interest in running, there could be a lot of interest from voters.”
Monday at noon was the deadline to register campaigns at what is typically a busy scene in Medicine Hat city hall chambers, though with new rules allowing registration starting last January 1, few candidates or political observers attended.
Only one new name was added to a city council list that will be the largest in 20 years for an election, while the absence of three names spelled out the plans of three incumbent councillors who had yet to announce.
Coun. Julie Friesen told the News on the weekend that after eight council terms during her political career, she had decided not to run again. She said she would have more to say when she addressed council on Monday night.
Friesen also ran for mayor in 2009, placing a close second to incumbent candidate Norm Boucher.
Couns. Jamie McIntosh and Kris Samraj also did not file re-election campaigns.
McIntosh, a teacher in his private career, said he supports term limits and wouldn’t seek a third term.
“Eight years is a long time, and when I decided to run (in 2013), my wife and I were empty-nesters looking for some way to serve in the community,” he said. “Now I have two grandkids, and just turned 50, so I’ve been thinking about what my next decade looks like.”
That leaves five current term council members seeking re-election in a 33-candidate race that sees the top eight vote-getters earn seats.
The official list for councillor campaigns includes (in alphabetical order) Kelly Gayle Allard, Mark Asham, Bill Bergeson, Jim Black, Mandi Lee Campbell, Stephen Campbell, Brian Dueck, Robert Dumanowski, Shane Gilmore, Bradley Gruszie, Paul Wray Hemsing, Cassi Hider, Darren Hirsch, Jay Hitchen, Marco Jansen, Praveen Joshi, Allison Knodel, Nicholas Martin, Roger Steven McClary, Andy McGrogan, Immanuel Moritz, Warren Pister, Ramona Karen Robins, Rockford Rutledge, Shila Sharps, Jeremy Silver, Phil Turnbull, Charles “Chuck” Turner, James “Jim” Turner, Alison Van Dyke, Brian Varga, Brian Webster and Justin Wright.
Five candidates for mayor are Linnsie Clark, Ted Clugston, Tony Leahy, Alan Rose and Michael Starner.
[Editor’s Note: The original version of this article omitted the name of city council candidate Brian Varga. A correction has been made.]
