By Steve Hubrecht
Local elections will be held across B.C., and of course right here in the Columbia Valley, in exactly one month, and change is in the cards.
The valley has become known over the past decade for its remarkable streaks of political incumbency, with mayors, councillors, and regional rural electoral area directors often marking their tenures with multiple terms, staying part of local government for a decade or more. The last local election, for instance, in 2018, resulted in — across all positions — 17 municipal representatives taking office: 13 of them had previous served in local politics, and only four were brand new.
Fans of this incumbency cite the advantages of stability and consistency at the local government level. Critics point to the lack of fresh ideas, and contend that the trend of long-serving council members has seen most local elections become somewhat uncompetitive: in 2018 in the Village of Radium Hot Springs, all councillors and the mayor were acclaimed, as there were only just enough candidates to fill the spots. In both Invermere and Canal Flats in 2018, there were more people running for council than spots available, but not by a wide margin, with only one or two councillor candidates not getting elected, and the mayor races being limited to two or three candidates at most.
And while the number of candidates running this time around has not dramatically increased, change is coming no matter who is elected, since a number of long-serving local politicians are stepping down. In a further twist, some of the few returning politicians are shifting things up by running for a different position (mayor instead of councillor).
In contrast to the 2018 election, with its 13 experienced local politicians and four new ones, this year, even if every returning candidate is elected again, there will be at most seven municipal politicians with previous experience, and ten who are new to the game.
Of course, if voters truly decide to cast their ballots against incumbency (which is very rare in the Columbia Valley’s local elections, but which has happened several times in the past), the swing could be even more dramatic, with only two previously experienced local politicians — Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) Area F director Susan Clovechok and Invermere mayor Al Miller — guaranteed to be back in office (both will be acclaimed, as no other candidates are running against either). Such a scenario would see two incumbents and 15 fresh faces among the valley’s 17 municipal politicians.
The Columbia Valley’s representation on the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK)’s board of directors will also be markedly different. The valley has five directors on the board (the Area G director, the Area F director, and the mayors of Invermere, Radium Hot Springs and Canal Flats). This year at least three of those positions will be filled by new people.
This week, with the nomination period having only closed at 4 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 9, the Pioneer offers a quick run-down — from north to south — of the valley’s municipal candidates. Stayed tuned to future issues for more detailed election coverage.
In RDEK Area G, longtime director Gerry Wilkie is not running for re-election. His seat will be contested by 2018 Area G candidate Stephanie Stevens and Roberta Schnider.
Mayor (and previous councillor) Clara Reinhardt is stepping down at the Village of Radium Hot Springs. Current councillor Mike Gray is seeking to replace Reinhardt, and in the process become just the village’s fourth mayor ever, but he has competition from Brad Lawrence. Radium councillors Todd Logan and Tyler McCauley are not seeking re-election. With Gray gunning to be mayor, that leaves just one incumbent Radium councillor — Dale Shudra — seeking another term as councillor. Other councillor candidates include Radium Chamber of Commerce president Erin Palashniuk, Bob Campbell, Carey Collin, and Christi Ferguson-Huston. Four of the five councillor candidates will be elected.
In Invermere, mayor Al Miller is running again, and will be acclaimed to a second term in the role. Incumbent councillors Kayja Becker and Gerry Taft are both running as councillor candidates again, and they are joined by three new candidates: Jack Caldbick, Theresa Wood, and Mark Topliff.
Four of the five councillor candidates will be elected. Current Invermere councillors Greg Anderson and Ute Juras are stepping down from local politics.
RDEK Area F director Susan Clovechok will be acclaimed to a second term, with nobody running against her.
In the village of Canal Flats, mayor (and previous councillor) Karl Sterzer is not running for re-election. Current councillor Doug McCutcheon is stepping up to run for mayor, and he will face off against fellow mayoral candidate Mark Doherty. Incumbent Canal Flats councillor Bill Lake is running for a councillor position again, but councillors Marie Delorme and Kimberley Swerdferger are leaving municipal politics. Seven new councillor candidates are joining Lake in Canal Flats councillor election race: Denis Babin, Allan Gauthier, Anora Kobza, Cody McKersie, Jennifer Noble, Patricia Reed and Justin Stanbury. With eight candidates vying for four spots, the Canal Flats councillor election is by far the most competitive in the valley.
Just 48 hours prior to the nomination deadline, it appeared there may be very little reason for local voters to head to the polls come election day on Oct. 15. At that point, the only positions that showed multiple candidates on the CivicInfo B.C.’s website were the Canal Flats mayor and the Area G director roles, with two candidates each. At the time, there were four candidates for four Canal Flats council role, three for the four Invermere spots, three for the four Radium spots, and one person each for Invermere mayor and Radium mayor. A late minute surge of candidates came forward over the final two days, however, giving voters a chance to at least exercise their democratic voting power (if not exercise their legs on the walk to the polling booths).
