kevron2002 / Depositphotos.com
The municipal election races in Perth and Smiths Falls are beginning to take shape, with several current councillors seeking different positions, new candidates entering the field and longtime Smiths Falls Mayor Shawn Pankow confirming he will not seek re-election.
In Perth, three candidates are currently running for mayor: David Bird, Stephanie Drummond and Isabel Anne McRae.
Drummond is making a second consecutive run for mayor. She challenged Judy Brown and John Fenik in 2022, when Brown won the mayor’s chair with 983 votes. Drummond received 563.
Brown is taking a different path this time, filing to run for councillor after serving one term as mayor.
Current councillor David Bird is also seeking the mayor’s chair, while McRae is making the same move. Councillor Jim Boldt has filed to run for deputy mayor, and councillor Gary Waterfield is seeking another term on council.
The other councillor candidates currently listed are Marlene Donoghue, Paul Quinnell and Sheldon Giff. Donoghue and Giff both ran unsuccessfully for council in 2022.
Deputy Mayor Ed McPherson and Councillor Barry Smith have not yet appeared on the unofficial candidate list.
Perth elects one mayor, one deputy mayor and five councillors.
In Smiths Falls, Nate Morris and Christopher G. Cummings have filed to run for mayor.
The race will result in a new mayor after Pankow announced last week in an exclusive interview with LanarkLeedsToday.ca that he will not seek re-election. Pankow has served nearly 12 years as mayor, following four years as a councillor.
Six candidates are currently seeking the town’s six councillor positions.
Jennifer Miller and Stephen Robinson are current councillors seeking another term, while Greg Hull, Chance Peterson, Spring Loomes and Bill Dickson are new candidates.
Four current councillors have not yet appeared on the unofficial nomination list: Chris McGuire, Dawn Quinn, Jay Brennan and Peter McKenna.
Nominations remain open in both municipalities until 2 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, so the fields could still change before the ballots are finalized.
Both communities will use internet and telephone voting, with voting opening Oct. 19 and closing at 8 p.m. Monday, Oct. 26.
