Most members of Trail and Castlegar city councils will seek another term in the fall, but the way the mayoral races are shaping up guarantees that at least a few familiar faces will not be back.
In Castlegar, all but one member of the current council will seek re-election, although not necessarily for their present position.
When mayor Maria McFaddin announced she wouldn’t run for another term, councillors Brian Bogle and Sue Heaton-Sherstobitoff quickly announced they would both be candidates for the top job.
Councillors Darcy Bell, Sandy Bojechko, Shirley Falstead, and Cherryl MacLeod all confirm they will seek re-election.
In Trail, councillors Nick Cashol and Terry Martin have announced they will both run for mayor, while incumbent mayor Colleen Jones has not announced her plans.
Councillors Paul Butler and Bev Benson confirmed they will both run for re-election, while Doug Wilson said he is as yet undecided. We didn’t hear back from Thea Hanson.
Rossland mayor Andy Morel said he is planning to take a few weeks to “consider the next four years of life for me and my family.”
Councillor Jeff Weaver said the odds of him running again are “80/20.”
“This is an up and down decision for me depending on the week,” he said. “The driving force for me is after you gain experience, you are definitely a better councillor, and therefore I feel even more obligated to run again because of that experience. It’s not because I think I’m amazing or anything like that, but you are more of a resource to your community when you have experience, and therefore I am leaning very heavily on running again.”
None of the other Rossland councillors responded to email inquiries about their political futures.
In the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary, Beaver Valley director Ali Grieve, Area B director Linda Worley, and rural Grand Forks director Linda Kay Wiese will all run again. However, longtime Christina Lake director Grace McGregor is retiring. We didn’t receive a response from West Boundary director Sharen Gibbs.
