Council to be acclaimed in Killarney-Turtle Mountain

September 21, 2022 News

Janice Smith will be Killarney’s next mayor

BY KIM LANGEN

One new face, a number of returning members, along with a few vacating councillors giving up their seats, have all lined up in readiness for the upcoming municipal election.

However, there will not even be an election in the Municipality of Killarney-Turtle Mountain, as walk-in acclamations will be the outcome of the closing nomination process.

“So far it is all acclamation,” said Ernie Epp, senior election official, on Tuesday. “Nominations close today, at 4:30 p.m. At this point we have Janice Smith running for mayor, and running for council are Jane Ireland, Greg Ericson, Rick Pauls, Joan Kemp, and Gary King.”

The names of current long-time councillors Randy Hodge and Connie Blixhavn did not appear in the list of nominees.

As a result, there remains just one more opening for a councillor, in order to complete the bench of six councillors, said Epp, of Way To Go Consulting Inc.

The mayoral seat (head of council) at this point would be current councillor and deputy mayor Janice Smith, by acclamation.

The current mayor, Merv Tweed, who was newly elected in last year’s mayoral by-election, did not file a nomination for this upcoming election.

Epp has 35 years of experience with local governments, and for the past 10 years has been providing a wide variety of consulting services to many municipalities in Manitoba. His role as election official includes the management of 14 other municipalities.

Municipal elections will be held throughout the province on Wednesday, October 26.

For the official and final tally of 2022 Manitoba Votes, people can go to mbvotes.ca for all the information, he added.

“They have six positions, so there is going to be a need to fill that sixth position,” said Epp. “When the new council takes office after October 26, then they can fill the position with someone who is eligible to run in this election. So the first option is that council can appoint someone.”

The other option is that council can direct that a by-election take place, which seems unlikely given the fact that there were not enough members to fill the council seats in this current election.

More election results

In the Local Urban District (LUD) of Ninga, committee members William Beard, Edward Epp and Richard Pugh are all in by acclamation.

All of the Turtle Mountain School Division trustees have also been elected by acclamation:

• Ward I – Boissevain and Area (two positions): Rodney Hintz; Nanette Glover.

• Ward II– Killarney and Area (three positions): Garth Nichol; Robert MacTavish; Deanna Morgan.

• Ward III – Highway 23 and Area (one positions): Karen Wear.

In the R.M. of Prairie Lakes there’s a race for reeve with Chris Irwin, Darren Seymour and Geoff Gregoire all vying for the position. There will also be an election for the council seat in Ward 5: Andrew Gillingham vs. Katherine Taylor; and Ward 6: Larry Cruikshank vs. Kevin McClure. Ward 1 to 4 councillors are all in by acclamation: Armand Vallotton, Glen Johnson, Trent Cuvelier, and Michael MacKay, along with LUD of Ninette committee members Jaylene Evans and Leanne Treloar.

There will be an election for the six council seats in Boissevain-Morton with Rob Adams, Mike McCallum, Eric Reichert, R. George Heide, Rhonda Coupland, David Stead, and Calvin Treichel running. Head of council Judy Swanson is elected by acclamation.

There will be an election for the five council seats in the Municipality of Cartwright-Roblin with Shayne Kinley, Bonnie Lovett, Jolene McDonald, Brent Pawich, Darwin Robertson, and Rob Sveinson running. Head of council Jamie Dousselaere is elected by acclamation.

In the LUD of Mather two of the three board positions have been filled, with Adam Harms and Kevin Kielhorn elected by acclamation.

IN BY ACCLAMATION – Janice Smith will be Killarney’s new mayor at the end of October, following Manitoba’s municipal elections. She’s in by acclamation, along with councillors Jane Ireland, Greg Ericson, Rick Pauls, Joan Kemp, and Gary King. Smith was photographed above in January of 2021, after taking on the role of acting mayor, following the resignation of Rick Pauls as Killarney’s long-time mayor. Pauls will now be returning to municipal politics as a Killarney councillor. See photos of the councillors below.