Just like in the November 2011 City of Williams Lake Local General Election for the office of Mayor -- it appears certain that we will have a 3 way race for Mayor of Williams Lake in this October's Local General Election in the City of Williams Lake
The latest (and very likely the last) entry into the Williams Lake Mayoral Race is current Williams Lake City Councillor and Executive Director of the Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce - Jason Ryll. He explains to the
Williams Lake Tribune his reasons for wanting to enter into the race to become the next Mayor of Williams Lake - click
here
This follows an announcement from current Williams Lake Mayor Walt Cobb in 2021 but re-stated last week (click
here) and former Williams Lake City Councillor (1993-2014) Surinderpal Rathor back in June of this year (click
here), Both Mayor Cobb and Councillor Ryll have filed their Williams Lake Mayoral candidate paperwork with the City of Williams Lake's Chief Election Officer however Mr. Rathor has not, as of this writing, but is fully expected to do so before the deadline of Friday at 4pm
In the November 2011 City of Williams Lake local general election - the incumbent at the time, then Williams Lake Mayor Kerry Cook won her successful re-election bid in a 3 way race however each local general election is different in tone and expectations however each Williams Lake Mayoral candidate in the Oct 2022 local election will speak to Williams Lake voters, as to their vision for Williams Lake, both internally and externally and then their campaign teams will have to outwork the others to get their vote base to the election polls, both Advanced and General Voting Day as well as Mail In Ballots - in order to be successfully elected
Expected Discussion Topics in the upcoming Williams Lake Mayoral Race likely to include but not limited to:
* Relationships - both internally (community at large, service clubs, etc) and externally (First Nations, Other Levels of Government - Regional, Provincial and Federal, sectoral groups, etc)
* Climate Change Resiliency
* Local Economy
* Housing - all types (social, affordable, market driven)
* Healthcare - Infrastructure and Human Resources
* State of Local Infrastructure - Water, Sewer, Sidewalks, Roads, etc (both current and look to the future)
* Community Safety - role of RCMP and use of other tools to have a safe Williams Lake community
Meanwhile - on the Williams Lake City Councillor election front...
Challengers Micheal Moses, Joan Flaspohler and Jazmyn Lyons have all publicly declared bids for 1 of the 6 Williams Lake City Councillor seats and Mr. Moses & Ms. Flaspohler have filed the required nomination paperwork with the City of Williams Lake's Chief Election Officer however Ms. Lyons has not yet but expected to do so before the deadline of Friday at 4pm
Incumbent Williams Lake City Councillors Scott Nelson and Craig Smith have also filed the required nomination paperwork with the City of Williams Lake's Chief Election Officer to formally seek re-election while Councillors Sheila Boehm, Marnie Brenner and Ivan Bonnell have neither filed the required nomination paperwork with the City of Williams Lake's Chief Election Officer nor publicly announced their re-election plans. Councillors Boehm, Brenner and Bonnell are currently expected to seek re-election. Councillors Boehm and Brenner also both serve on the NCLGA/North Central Local Government Association Executive as 1st Vice President and Director at Large, respectively
If no one else files for Williams Lake City Councillor before Friday (and the above predictions for WL City Councillor candidates do occur) -- we will have an election by voting required with 8 candidates fighting for 6 seats available
The deadline to file nomination paperwork with the City of Williams Lake Chief Election Officer to seek the Office of Mayor or City Councillor -- is this Friday at 4pm!
~SF
