Counting down to the fall vote
Posted Jan 25, 2010 07:12:12 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The 2010 municipal election is exactly nine months from today and candidates have declared in more than half of the available ridings. With Kitchener expanding from six to ten councillors and Cambridge growing from six to eight, there are 28 seats available in Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge — including three mayors. As of today, 17 people have filed nomination papers for those 28 spots including Doug Craig and Brenda Halloran, who have officially declared their intentions to seek another term in office. For Halloran it would be a second term, while Craig is looking for a fourth term in the mayor’s chair. Rob Leone, a political scientist with Wilfrid Laurier University, tells 570 News Craig likely declared early because he wants to make amalgamation a part of his campaign. Leone figures Craig will use “a vote for Doug Craig is a vote against amalgamation” platform. Kitchener mayor Carl Zehr, finishing his fourth term this year, has not yet declared his intentions for the fall.
Of the 17 people who have declared their intentions for the fall, eight are familiar faces. That includes Jan D’Ailly, Ward 6 councillor in Waterloo, who declared before the end of 2009 that he would enter the mayoral race. Leone says history is repeating itself in Waterloo with more than one well-known candidate running for mayor. He points out that a lesser known Brenda Halloran beat previous mayors Herb Epp and Brian Turnbull in the 2006 race. Also in Waterloo, Councillors Karen Scian, Angela Vieth and Diane Freeman are all running again. In Cambridge, councillors Pam Wolf and Gary Price will seek another term in office but in Kitchener, none of the current council has made known its intentions for 2010. Of the five declared candidates in Kitchener, all are new faces. But that doesn’t mean they’re unfamiliar. Scott Piatkowski has run before and was the first to declare in Kitchener this year. And Frank Kulcsar has once again declared his intentions to run for mayor. Leone suggests this is democracy at work as more candidates come forward to run for seats on an expanded Kitchener council.
Only one candidate has filed papers for a regional council seat. Jane Mitchell will seek a fourth term. And while he is yet to officially file papers, 570 News has learned that Sean Strickland will also seek a fourth term. Strickland was first elected a regional councillor in 1997 and was re-elected in 2000. He did not seek re-election in 2003 when he instead launched a failed bid for a provincial post. Strickland was re-elected to regional council in 2006. Regional chair Ken Seiling has not yet declared his intentions for 2010. Leone says the relatively few candidates declared in Kitchener and at the regional level so far this year suggests many people may be waiting to see what Mayor Carl Zehr and Chair Ken Seiling do before making their own decisions.
For updates on who has filed nomination papers for the 2010 municipal election, use the following links:
