Municipal election campaigns are moving into high gear around the county.
Close to 100 candidates have filed to fill 48 elected positions on municipal councils in Wellington, and there are also several races for seats on local school boards.
The deadline for nominations passed on Sept. 12 and the next 38 days leading up to the Oct. 27 vote should prove to be very interesting.
Centre Wellington
In Centre Wellington, current councillor Kelly Linton is running for mayor against incumbent Joanne Ross-Zuj.
Candidates for Ward 1 are: Don Fisher, Frederick de Vries and Dean Workman. Wards 2, 3 and 4 have Kirk McElwain, Mary Lloyd and Fred Morris respectively acclaimed to those seats. Running for the Ward 5 seat are incumbent Walt Visser, Stephen Kitras and John Ortt. In Ward 6 incumbent Steven VanLeeuwen is up against Vinnie Green.
Erin
There are three candidates for mayor in Erin: Allan Alls, Rod Finnie and David Lyver. Incumbent Mayor Lou Maieron has chosen to run for the Ward 9 seat on county council.
Running for four available council positions are: incumbents John Brennan and Jose Wintersinger as well as Jamie Cheyne, Evelyn McLean, Rob Smith, George Silva, Jeff Duncan, Christopher Naraysingh, Shawn Wilson, Matt Sammut and Craig Porterfield.
Guelph-Eramosa
Incumbent Chris White and John Scott are seeking the title of mayor in Guelph-Eramosa Township.
Incumbents David Wolk and Corey Woods have been acclaimed to Wards 1 and 2 respectively. The Ward 3 seat has two candidates: Robbin Wood and Louise Marshall. In Ward 4, Mark Bouwmeester is going against Doug Tripp.
Mapleton
In Mapleton, current Mayor Bruce Whale is not seeking a second term. Two current councillors, Neil Driscoll and Jim Curry, are competing to replace Whale.
With current councillors Andy Knetsch and Mike Downey declining to run, Mapleton will have a completely new set of councillors after the election.
Ten candidates are running for four positions: Dennis Craven, Angie Culp, Paul Douglas, Michael Martin, Rick Molenaar, Marlene Ottens, Albert Runstedler, Nadia Sommerville, Martin Tamlyn and Lori Woodham.
Minto
Mayor George Bridge faces a challenge from current deputy mayor Terry Fisk.
Current councillor Ron Faulkner will be acclaimed to the position of deputy mayor.
Vying for five positions as councillors in Minto are incumbents Mary Lou Colwell, Dave Turton and Ron Elliott, along with Judy Dirksen, Geoff Gunson, Nichola McEwan, Jean Anderson, Don Senek and Edward Bodnar.
Puslinch
Candidates for mayor in Puslinch Township are incumbent Dennis Lever and former mayor Brad Whitcombe, in a re-match of the 2010 race.
Those seeking a council position include Daina Makinson, Cameron Tuck, Matthew Bulmer and incumbents Ken Roth, Wayne Stokley and Susan Fielding.
Wellington North
Up for mayor are Andy Lennox and incumbent Raymond Tout. For the council position in Ward 1, incumbent Dan Yake and Shawn McLeod are candidates. Ward 2 sees incumbent Sherry Burke, Bob Mason and Brett McHugh vying for a seat. Ross Chaulk, incumbent Mark Goetz and Jens Dam are running in Ward 3; and Steven McCabe and John Matusinec are competing for a spot in Ward 4.
Wellington County council
Nine seats on Wellington County council are elected at large, with the mayors from the seven lower tier municipalities making up the remainder of the 16-member council.
Seeking county council seats on Oct. 27 are:
– Ward 1: incumbent Mark MacKenzie, Steve Hardie and David Anderson;
– Ward 2: incumbent John Green and Gregg Davidson;
– Ward 3: incumbent Gary Williamson is acclaimed;
– Ward 4: incumbent Lynda White and Stephen O’Neill;
– Ward 5: Allan Hons, incumbent Jean Innes and Rob Black;
– Ward 6: incumbent Shawn Watters and Diane Ballantyne;
– Ward 7: incumbent Don McKay and Kevin Johnson;
– Ward 8: Doug Breen is acclaimed; and
– Ward 9: Barb Tocher, Pierre Brianceau and Lou Maieron.
Public school board
The position of school trustee representing Centre Wellington for the Upper Grand District School Board is being contested by incumbent David Gohn and Barabara Lustgarten-Evoy.
East Garafraxa, Erin and Guelph-Eramosa have two contenders: Brandon Moyer and incumbent Kathryn Cooper. Christopher Cassel, incumbent Marty Fairbairn and Tyler Rockliffe are running for the City of Guelph and Puslinch Township seat. Incumbent Bruce Schieck has been acclaimed to represent Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North.
Separate school board
For the trustee position on the Wellington Catholic District School Board, Shaun Redmond and Cassandra Chornoby are vying for the Centre Wellington, Erin, Puslinch and Guelph-Eramosa area; while Andrew Finoro has been acclaimed for Centre Wellington, Mapleton, Minto and Wellington North.
French boards
Three contenders for the public trustee position are: Denise Carter, Johanne Gray and Dennis Trudel. The French separate trustee hopefuls are Tammy Knibbs, Genevieve Grenier and Blaise Liaki.
*Watch for special election coverage in next week’s issue of the Wellington Advertiser, including candidate profiles.
