MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY - There will be new councillors in several divisions in Mountain View County following the Oct. 18 municipal election as a number of sitting councillors have announced that they will not be seeking re-election.
Nominations for the 2021 election opened on Jan. 1 and close on Sept. 20. There are seven council seats in Mountain View County, with one of the councillors selected by fellow councillors to serve as reeve.
Current reeve and Division 4 councillor Bruce Beattie has already said he does not plan to seek another term.
Division 3, third-third-term councillor Duncan Milne says he will not seek re-election in 2021.
Division 7 councillor Al Kemmere, who has served 17 years on council, also says he will not seek another term.
He said he’s encouraging others to run and “potentially have the same great experiences that I have had.”
Division 2, first-term councillor Greg Harris says he plans to run again in 2021. He is currently the county’s deputy reeve.
Division 1 first-term councillor Dwayne Fulton also says he plans to seek re-election in October.
Division 5, two-term councillor Angela Aalbers says she is still undecided on whether to run again. She said she hopes there will be lots of candidates in the election and a good voter turnout.
Division 6, first-term councillor Peggy Johnson says she is still undecided on whether to run again.
Reeve Beattie is encouraging potential candidates to come forward.
“I certainly hope people will start thinking about it,” said Beattie. “I would encourage anyone who is interested in taking on the position to do so and also to feel free to call one of us if they would like some more information about the position and what that entails and some of the requirements and the commitment that is necessary.
“We will ensure that there is a good orientation process for new councillors when they come on.”
Beattie says there are number of opportunities and challenges he sees facing the county over the next four years.
“If we look at our long-term financial issues, and we do a 10-year projection from a fiscal perspective, there is definitely going to be some challenges,” he said.
“We know what the provincial situation is like and we rely heavily on oil and gas revenue and provincial grants to do many of our programs.”
Working with neighbouring towns on matters such as fire agreements will also be on the agenda over the next term, he said.
“Those matters are going to require good diplomacy,” he said.
