The election season is in full swing, and although the nomination period does not close until tomorrow, we already have a reasonably good idea of who is running for what positions in which electoral district.
There have been some interesting developments already - David Frisch backing out of the Courtenay mayoral race; former Comox councillor and mayoral candidate Tom Grant switching municipalities and running for Courtenay council; and an actual mayoral race in Cumberland, to name a few.
(Yes, Mayor Leslie Baird will have some competition this year, after two successive acclamations, as Eduardo Uranga has filed his candidacy papers.)
Cumberland will have at least seven candidates for council, including all four incumbents.
Courtenay has four mayoral candidates, and, at last count, 14 candidates for council. Courtenay council is guaranteed to have a massive overhaul on Oct. 20, as only three of the six incumbents are seeking re-election.
Comox will elect a new mayor, as Paul Ives is stepping down, and there are at least five nominees for the various Comox Valley Regional District areas.
The Comox Valley Record has been publishing all the candidates’ introductory statements as we receive them. All those press releases are also on our website, comoxvalleyrecord.com, in a special Municipal Election section (click “election” on the menu bar at the top of the page). We will also have a supplement closer to the election date, with opportunities for every candidate to answer questions pertinent to their respective municipality/electoral area.
It is now up to the residents of the Comox Valley to educate themselves, and to make an informed decision as to who they want to form their next government.
With so many interesting races heating up, there’s no reason for voter apathy. It would be great to buck the Comox Valley trend, and see the majority of eligible voters actually make the effort to vote in 2018.
We are doing our part. On Oct. 20, do yours.