The deadline for nominations in Tofino’s March 6 municipal byelection has officially passed with three candidates on the ballot for mayor and eight candidates running for two council seats.
The mayor seat’s became vacant after Josie Osborne was elected Mid Island - Pacific Rim MLA in October.
The three candidates running for mayor are: J.J. Belanger, Dan Law and Andrea McQuade
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READ MORE: Belanger enters Tofino’s mayoralty race
In order to run for mayor, both Dan Law and Andrea McQuade had to resign their council seats, meaning two new councillors are set to be elected on March 6.
The eight candidates running for those two council seats are:
Stephen Ashton
Zak Cross
Jacky Challenger
Chris Heisterman
Maddy Prince
Ali Sawyer
Cathy Thicke
Lindsay Whitefield
Because of the number of candidates running, the Tofino Long Beach chamber of commerce has announced it will split up its traditional All Candidates Forum into two separate events, one for the mayoralty candidates on Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. and one for the councillor candidates on Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.
“It’s encouraging to see so much interest in running for the spaces open on Tofino municipal council,” the chamber’s executive director Jen Dart told the Westerly News in an email. “It does present a challenge for the All Candidates Forum, however, so we have decided to split it into two separate events. This will ensure the public has the opportunity to hear from all the candidates who are running.”
Both forums will be hosted online via Zoom and residents wanting to participate in either forum are encouraged to register through the chamber’s website at tofinochamber.org.
The District of Tofino has published the list of candidates running in the March 6th By-Election for 1 Mayoral seat and...
Posted by Tofino Chamber of Commerce on Saturday, January 30, 2021
Tofino’s last byelection was held in 2019 with six candidates running for one council seat and saw 604 ballots cast out of 1,422 eligible voters for a 42 per cent voter turnout.
Tofino’s 2018 general municipal election saw 929 ballots cast for a 65 per cent voter turnout.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.ca
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