MORRISBURG – Only days remain in the nomination period for this fall’s municipal election. Candidates have until August 19 at 2 p.m. to file their nomination papers. As of August 15, a few more names have been added to local ballots.
In South Dundas, one more candidate joined the council race. Jeff Welsh filed his nomination papers last week and becomes the third council candidate. He joins Lloyd Wells and Tom Smyth in the race. Running for mayor are current Deputy Mayor Kirsten Gardner and former councillor Bill Ewing. Councillor Donald Lewis is unopposed in his bid for the Deputy Mayor position.
Only five candidates are running for North Dundas council, one for each vacant seat available. Incumbent Mayor Tony Fraser is unopposed in his bid for re-election so far. Also running are – Deputy Mayor: Theresa Bergeron; Councillor: Gary Annable (incumbent), Stefan Kohut, William Healey, and Matthew Uhrig. Uhrig is the former editor of the Winchester Press.
North Stormont will have a contested election with two members of the current council vying for the mayor’s chair. Deputy Mayor Francois Landry will square off against Councillor Roxane Villeneuve. Landry has served four years as deputy mayor and previously served as a councillor. Villeneuve is a first-term councillor and was recently sanctioned following a report from that municipality’s Integrity Commissioner.
Deputy Mayor: Steve Densham, and Dean Laponsee. Councillor: David MacDonald, Alison McDonald, Adrian Bugelli, and Matt Shea.
In South Stormont, current Mayor Bryan McGillis and Deputy Mayor David Smith are both running for another term. Five people are running for the Councillor position: Jennifer MacIsaac (incumbent), Cindy Woods (incumbent), Andrew Guindon (incumbent) Tammy Spittal, and Louise Leclerc.
South Glengarry is still without enough candidates to fill all the positions at its council table. Current Mayor Lyle Warden is unopposed; Councillor Martin Lang and challenger Jacqueline Milner are running for Deputy Mayor; Stephanie Jaworski and Trevor Bougie are running for Councillor.
Most candidates in North Glengarry are unopposed for the fall election. Mayor Jamie MacDonald and Deputy Mayor Carma Williams may be acclaimed if no candidates run against them. Also unopposed are Michael Madden – Alexandria; Jeff Manley – Kenyon; Jacques Massie – Councillor at Large; and Gary Martin – Maxville. The only election race so far is for Lochiel ward, where incumbent Brenda Noble faces challenger Brian Caddell.
The race for Mayor in the City of Cornwall remains unchanged. Incumbent Mayor Glen Grant faces challengers Councillor Justin Towndale and resident James Leroux. Fourteen people are vying for 10 councillor positions including: Bruce Baker, Carol Boileau, Martin Chevalier, Patrick Dussault, Syd Gardner (incumbent), Sarah Good, Dean Hollingsworth (incumbent), Christopher Leclair, Elaine MacDonald (incumbent), David Murphy, Fred Ngoundjo, Mary Jane Proulx, Jason Riley, and Gerald E. Samson.
In neighbouring Edwardsburgh-Cardinal, the mayoral race remains unchanged with current Mayor Pat Sayeau facing current Deputy Mayor Tory Deschamps for the top spot. Councillor Stephen Dillabough is uncontested for the Deputy Mayor’s position, as is Hugh Cameron for Ward 1 councillor. Chris Ward and John Courtney are seeking the Ward 3 councillor position; Ward 2 councillor is vacant with no candidates.
In the event that a council seat does not have a candidate for election, a municipal clerk can extend the nomination period for a short period of time.
If after that time there is still no candidate for the position, an election will move forward with the candidates available for nomination.
Once a new council is elected and sworn into office, that council can then decide how to fill the vacant council position.
