ST. PAUL - Unlike other area municipalities, the County of St. Paul has chosen to keep a lid on who has filed nomination papers to run in the upcoming municipal election until after the noon deadline on nomination day Sept. 20.
While the towns of St. Paul, Bonnyville and the MD of Bonnvyille are all posting candidates’ names on their websites as they file their intent to run, the County has not. As a result, the rumour mill is working overtime as to who may or may not be seeking to fill the reeve’s chair since Steve Upham announced last month he will not seek re-election.
Whether or not any of the existing council members will put their names forward for reeve is hard to say at this point as they are holding their cards pretty close to their chests. Many phone calls have been made to confirm and, also, to debunk some of the rumours swirling around the local coffee shops.
As of Monday, there is one official contender for reeve who has confirmed to Lakeland Today she is on the campaign trail – Yvonne Weinmeier. Living on the family farm in the Ashmont area, Weinmeier, who would be a new face on County council if elected, is confident her career experience and agriculture background will lend itself well to the position of reeve.
“I made the decision to run for reeve as I have always had a passion to contribute to the prosperity of our community and surrounding area. I am a proven leader and have a strong desire to contribute to a collaborative group to oversee the positive future of the County,” said in a statement confirming she had filed her nomination papers.
Meanwhile, Division 1 incumbent Darrell Younghans confirmed he has filed his papers for a second term as councillor in his division. He said the decision to seek a second term wasn’t made lightly and many factors were weighed in the process but overall, his experience on council was positive.
Whether or not Younghans will face any challengers in Division 1 is not yet known.
“I was instrumental in pushing to get council’s remuneration published. It’s not in the form that I would like it to be in but it’s a start,” he said of one of his highlights during the last four years.
First elected to council in 2017, Division 2 incumbent Kevin Wirsta confirmed Thursday he will “run and support his Division 2 ratepayers again.”
Wirsta said while his first term was a learning curve, he found it both interesting and exciting and enjoyed working with his colleagues around the council table. He recognizes that the road ahead will be a challenging one in terms of provincial changes to funding formulas for municipalities.
“Certainly, there’s going to be some changes in the upcoming years in how the County services the ratepayers,” Wirsta said, adding “I’m not scared of change, change is good - we need to embrace it."
Jonny Nielsen announced his candidacy for Division 2 with a table at Elk Point's information night recently.
Division 4 councillor Maxine Fodness was first elected in 2004 and will also be looking to continue her work on council.
“I’ve got experience and knowledge of County operations and the budget and I have a good report with administration and public works, so it was easy,” Fodness said of making the decision to run for another term. “I enjoy responding to ratepayers’ needs and coming to solutions that are fair and consistent.”
Fodness is unaware of any challengers for the seat in her division.
Division 5 councillor Dale Hedrick is hoping to continue his work on County council for a second term. Elected in 2017, Hedrick admitted to some hesitation to running again given the budgetary decisions council will have to make going forward due to reduced provincial funding and the hit the county is already starting to feel from a reduced industrial tax assessment. Less money translates to cuts and Hedrick said there will be some tough decisions that will need to be made at the council level that won’t sit well with all ratepayers.
“I was on the fence there a bit but when I thought about it more, yes, it’s the right thing to do to run so the right decisions in my mind can be made.”
He said he is aware he will have a competitor for the Division 5 seat – a County employee. Carol Reeves confirmed she is seeking to represent the division in the next term.
County staff on the ballot
County CAO Sheila Kitz said last week she believes there may be as many as three county staff who are intending to run for council. She confirmed two are already on a leave of absence, as is required when an employee seeks election. If they are successful in their campaign, they must resign from the county’s employment. Kitz declined to name names prior to the nomination deadline.
County FCSS director Janice Fodchuk has announced on social media she is running in Division 3. Long-term councillor Cliff Martin is not seeking re-election in that division. Ross Krekoski has also publicly announced he is a candidate in Division 3.
Division 6 councillor Laurent Amyotte will also not seek re-election. Louis Dechaine confirmed to Lakeland Today he is making a bid for the Division 6 council seat.
