Now what?
Nomination Day is over so let's see who's running
First off, CBC has a great list of who is running for council seats throughout the entire Region.
Bob Jonkman also has compiled a grid outlining who is running where, including school board trustees. His page is particularly useful as it includes the contact information of the candidates.
But let’s dive into each municipality and township.
Cambridge:
Here is the list of certified candidates running in Cambridge.
If you’re wondering which ward you are in, check out this ward map.
Kitchener:
Kitchener has 10 wards and the mayor. 7 of those positions have the incumbent seeking re-election. The three seats where no incumbent is running are: Ward 3 - John Gazzola; Ward 5 - Kelly Galloway-Sealock; and, Ward 10 - Sarah Marsh.
Kitchener has at least 2 candidates running in every ward so there won’t be any acclamations there. They also have a whopping 14 people running for the 4 Kitchener seats on Regional Council. Not to be outdone however, there are 17 candidates running for the 4 trustee positions on the Waterloo Region District School Board!
If you’re wondering either which ward you are in, or who your current councillor is, this Kitchener map might help.
Waterloo:
Waterloo also has at least 2 candidates running for each city council seat. Given that half of Waterloo’s 8 council seats have no incumbent running, including for mayor, it’s safe to say that there will be a lot of new faces sitting around Waterloo Council’s horseshoe after the election.
Click to see the Waterloo ward map, along with current council members for each ward.
Region of Waterloo:
Candidates for Regional Council are found on each city’s listing of candidates. Waterloo has 2 representatives, as does Cambridge. Kitchener has 4 representatives. The townships don’t have specific representatives running. Instead, the mayor of each township becomes that township’s Regional Council representative.
North Dumfries:
Mayor Sue Foxton will be acclaimed as no other candidates are running for mayor. In fact, 4 of the 5 seats in North Dumfries only have one candidate. Ward 1 has 2 candidates, making it the only race to watch in North Dumfries this election.
Wellesley:
Wellesley has several seats where only one person has filed as well, resulting in their being acclaimed, including for mayor.
Wilmot:
Every seat in Wilmot has at least 2 candidates running, ensuring no acclamations (unless someone were to withdraw their candidacy).
Woolwich:
It’s a race in every ward in Woolwich too, as every position has at least 2 candidates running. The race for mayor of Woolwich could be an interesting one with current mayor Sandy Shantz running again with current Woolwich councillor Patrick Merlihan also throwing his hat in the ring.
So, that’s a first glance at who is running in this Fall’s municipal election. Future posts will dig a little deeper into the issues and policies these candidates are running on. If you have specific questions about this Fall’s election, let me know by commenting below!