Trail will have a four-way race for mayor.
Three candidates have been known for weeks or months: incumbent Colleen Jones and incumbent councillors Nick Cashol and Terry Martin. But a late addition to the race is Karl Kuepper, who has been fixing up an old grocery store in the Gulch. We’ll hear more about him next week.
When the nomination deadline closed today, there were ten candidates for the six council seats, including incumbents Bev Benson, Paul Butler, and Thea Hanson. They are joined by Mark Buckley, Sarah Bullock, Diana Dickieson, Paul Harvey, Sheldon Hicks, Glen Hodge, and Gary Stuart.
Incumbent Doug Wilson is not seeking re-election.
Meanwhile, Rosslanders will choose between two women for mayor: incumbent councillor Lisa Kwiatkowski and former councillor Janice Nightingale.
It’s the second time that Rossland has had an all-female mayor’s race, after Kathy Moore and Jill Spearn ran against each other in 2014.
There are 12 candidates for council, including incumbent mayor Andy Morel, incumbent councillors Craig Humpherys, Maya Provencal, and Jeff Weaver. Joining them on the ballot will be Dan Ehele, Mark Godin, Tara McDougall, Melanie Mercier, Darin Recchi, Sharon Roberts, Trista Sulman, Matthew Watkins.
Incumbents Eliza Boyce and Stewart Spooner will not seek another term.
In Fruitvale, incumbent councillor Catherine Guesford is challenging incumbent mayor Wes Startup. Five people are running for council: incumbents Karen Halifax and Julia Mason plus newcomers Tamara Pearson, Jimmy Swanson, and Sunee Vektoor.
In Montrose, the entire council is set to be elected by acclamation, including longtime mayor Mike Walsh and incumbent councillors Cindy Cook, Russ Cooper, and Rory Steep. Newcomer William Thatcher will fill the final seat.
In Warfield, mayor Frank Marino will be re-elected by acclamation. Initially, it appeared that there would be a race for council, but Mandi Lunan withdrew. As a result, the remaining four will be declared elected by acclamation: incumbent Ray Masleck plus Doug Bruce, Erika Krest, and Warren Mirko. Krest ran for mayor in 2022.
Click here for a complete list of West Kootenay/Boundary candidates.
