UPDATE: According to an update from the Town of Crossfield, Jo Lambert was the seventh candidate to file nomination for the upcoming municipal election.
Lambert's addition means there are seven acclaimed candidates – Kim Harris will serve as mayor, while incumbent councillors Joanne Cornelssen, Justin Gustafson, and Mike Knight will all maintain their council seats. Newcomers Lambert, Luke Brennan and Shawn Vang will fill out the remaining seats on council.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Due to a lack of candidates registered, the Town of Crossfield has extended the nomination deadline for the upcoming municipal election.
With six candidates registered as of the nomination deadline of Sept. 20, the Town came up one person short of contenders for its Oct. 18 municipal election, which will seek to fill seven council positions.
In compliance with the Local Authorities Election Act, the Town has therefore extended the time for receipt of nominations until 12 p.m. on Sept. 21, according to a post on the municipality's Facebook page.
Eligible council positions include one mayoral seat and six councillor appointments.
According to Christina Waldner, communications/research officer with the Town of Crossfield, the municipality is hoping for at least one additional candidate to submit their nomination today for the upcoming election.
“If we get additional candidates, then there wouldn’t be anything further for us to do,” she said in an email. “If we are still short [of] nominations, we’ll be putting out a statement of next steps on social media and the website informing our residents.”
As of the nomination deadline, Mayor Jo Tennant had announced she will not be running for re-election, while incumbent Coun. Kim Harris had submitted her bid to replace Tennant as Crossfield's mayor.
Incumbent councillors Joanne Cornelssen, Justin Gustafson, and Mike Knight are all seeking re-election in their respective positions, meaning Tennant is the only current council member not seeking another term. Newcomers Luke Brennan and Shawn Vang are also hoping to snag a seat on Town council.
While there are only five current members, council passed a bylaw earlier this year to increase the number of council representatives to seven.
According to Section 21 of the Local Authorities Election Act, qualified nominees are those who are eligible to vote in the election, have been a resident of the local jurisdiction for six consecutive months preceding nomination day, and are not otherwise ineligible or disqualified.
Interested candidates are encouraged to contact the Town and submit a completed nomination package. Nomination packages can be found at crossfieldalberta.com
Carmen Cundy, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @carmenrcundy
