It took nearly the entire nomination period for a council ballot to unfold in Redcliff, but with the current mayor as one of the now eight candidates for six seats, the race is definitely on. Meanwhile, with Monday's filing deadline, only one candidate - current councillor Chris Czember - is vying for mayor.--NEWS FILE PHOTO
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Redcliff Mayor Dwight Kilpatrick, who has served in the role since 2017, will not run for re-election – but he will remain on the ballot for town council. Meanwhile, two-term Coun. Chris Czember is currently the only candidate in the running the mayor’s chair.
As of Wednesday night, eight candidates were registered to run for town council; only five were running for six seats as of 24 hours earlier. The end of the nomination period is Monday.
“I’ve done two terms, and I’m just reaching a point in my life where I like being on the council, and I like being involved in what’s going on in town, but I want to do some other things,” Kilpatrick told the News on Wednesday.
He cites the rebuilding of the water park and the arena as two projects from his tenure he is proud of. He has teamed with Premier Danielle Smith, in her role as Brooks-Medicine Hat MLA, to push for a new school in Redcliff. Kilpatrick says the town’s aging schools are all over 40 years old.
He hopes to remain involved in community governance as a town councillor, but is happy to be – as of now anyway – ceding the mayoral seat to a longtime colleague.
Czember has served two terms on council, beginning in 2017. In addition to council role, Czember owns or co-owns several businesses in Redcliff and Medicine Hat. He says he’s been thinking about making a bid for the mayoral office for a while.
“The last election, I considered it, but I wanted to get a little more experience under my belt,” he told the News on Wednesday. “Now I feel is the right time for me to step up and take that on.”
Czember says he has mixed feelings about currently being the only option on the ballot.
“It’s nice both ways, if I run unopposed or opposed. It would be more satisfying to win an election and know that the people are confident in my ability. But I guess it says something as well if nobody’s running opposed to me, that they feel confident in my role as well,” he said.
Kilpatrick isn’t troubled by the lack of competition in this year’s election. He says that with Czember’s extensive council experience, it’s hard to imagine a better contender.
“I know I’m going to vote for him,” said Kilpatrick.
Ruth Schaffer, returning officer for the town of Redcliff, says ballots have always been counted by hand in the town, so there are no notable changes expected for election night on Oct. 20.
After the voting station closes, results will be released in two stages: first when the advance count is complete, and second when all ballots have been counted. Results will be posted on the town website. Official results will be confirmed Friday, Oct. 24 at noon.
