The final list of candidates for the Comox Valley’s five local governments. Election Day is Oct. 20. Cumberland has a public referendum on the ballot, and Courtenay has a non-binding opinion question for voters
Cumberland
Candidates for mayor: Incumbent Leslie Baird and Eduardo Uranga
Candidates for four (4) council positions: Incumbents Roger Kishi, Jessie Kelter, Sean Sullivan, Gwyn Sproule and new candidates Eric Krejci, Vicky Brown and Ian McLean
REFERENDUM: Are you in favour of “Wastewater Upgrade Project Loan Authorization Bylaw, No. 1084, 2018” to authorize the Village of Cumberland to borrow up to $4,400,000, including interest, over a period not exceeding 20 years in order to finance the construction of an upgraded lagoon wastewater treatment plant? YES or NO
FOR CANDIDATE INTERVIEWS AND OTHER ELECTION 2018 INFORMATION: Go to the Decafnation Elections 2018 page
Courtenay
Candidates for mayor: Incumbent Larry Jangula and new candidates Erik Eriksson, Bob Wells and Harold Long
Candidates for six (6) council positions: Incumbents David Frisch, Doug Hillian and Mano Theos, and new candidates Melanie McCollum, Will Cole-Hamilton, Deana Simpkin, Judi Murakami, Wendy Morin, Brennan Day, Kiyoshi Kosky, Tom Grant, Murray Presley, Starr Winchester, Penny Marlow, Jin Lin and Darwin Dzuba
OPINION QUESTION (non-binding): Are you in favour of conducting a study, in partnership with the Province of BC, to review the governance structures and policies of the City of Courtenay and other local governments within the Comox Valley to consider the feasibility and implications of restructure? YES or NO
Comox
Candidates for mayor: Tom Diamond and Russ Arnott
Candidates for six (6) council positions: Incumbents Ken Grant and Maureen Swift, and new candidates Nicole Minions, Don Davis, Chris Haslett, Alex Bissinger, Ronald Freeman, Stephanie McGowan and Patrick McKenna
Regional District Rural Areas
Area A — Daniel Arbour and Jim Elliott
Area B — Incumbent Rod Nichol and Arzeena Hamir
Area C — Incumbent Edwin Grieve and Jay Oddleifson
School District 71
Janice Caton — City of Courtenay
Kathleen Hawksby — City of Courtenay
Sarah Jane Howe — Village of Cumberland
Laurel Rankin — Village of Cumberland
Randi Baldwin — Town of Comox
Tonia Frawley — Town of Comox
Shelia McDonnell — Area A
James Derry — Area B
Michelle Waite — Area B
Ian Hargreaves — Area C
Terence Purden — Area C
Look at civicinfo.bc.ca for the 2014 municipal results, searchable by area and also by prior elections on their website. I also compiled the following data, to show how low the voter turnouts are in the Comox Valley – in Areas B & C especially. If you look at the historical numbers, I don’t expect turnouts to increase more than marginally – what we see in 2014 will likely be similar.
These numbers show the vote splits are especially significant. In Courtenay we have 16 candidates running for 6 councillor seats.
Courtenay (2014):
Ballots cast in 2014 = 6,150
Eligible Voters in 2014 = 19, 853
Voter turnout in 2014 – 31.0 %
Comox (2014):
Number of Ballots Cast – 4,350
Estimated Eligible Voters – 10,509
Voter Turnout – 41.4%
Cumberland (2014):
Number of Ballots Cast – 1,101
Estimated Eligible Voters – 2,700
Voter Turnout – 40.8%
Electoral Area A (Baynes Sound-Denman/Hornby Islands) (2014):
Number of Ballots Cast – 1,787
Estimated Eligible Voters – 5,697
Voter Turnout – 31.4%
Electoral Area B (Lazo North) (2014):
Number of Ballots Cast – 1,560
Estimated Eligible Voters – 5,802
Voter Turnout – 26.9%
Electoral Area C (Puntledge-Black Creek) (2014):
Number of Ballots Cast – 1,241
Estimated Eligible Voters – 6,594
Voter Turnout – 18.8%