Twenty-One Candidates Registered in Owen Sound Ahead of Friday's Nomination Deadline
Nominations close August 21 at 2 p.m. Scott Greig is still unopposed for deputy mayor, one of Owen Sound's two seats at Grey County council.
Twenty-one candidates are registered across Owen Sound’s three municipal offices with five days left before nominations close.
Fourteen have filed for the seven council seats — one more than contested those seats in 2022. Six are running for mayor. One is running for deputy mayor.
Nominations close Friday, August 21 at 2 p.m. Candidates may withdraw up to the same deadline.
The Council Field
Registered to run for councillor seats: David Adams, Thomas Arakal, Justin Bianco, Brock Hamley, Jaret Koop, Suneet Kukreja, Melanie Middlebro’, Brian O’Leary, Meghan Robertson, Jeff Rockwell, Tamara Sargent, David William Schinbein, Angela Stow and David Walton.
One name has been added since the Current last reported the field on August 12. Koop said on August 9 that he had gathered the required signatures, and has now made it official.
Thirteen candidates ran for Owen Sound’s seven council seats in 2022. The field has now passed that number with the deadline still ahead.
Who’s an Incumbent, Who’s Held Office Before and Who’s New
Three sitting councillors are seeking re-election to council: Hamley, Kukreja and Middlebro’.
Hamley was first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022 with 3,201 votes, fifth among 13 candidates. Middlebro’ was elected in 2022 with 3,443 votes, fourth. Kukreja was elected in 2022 with 2,916 votes, taking the seventh and final seat.
Two more sitting members of council are on the ballot in other races. Councillor Carol Merton is running for mayor. Deputy Mayor Scott Greig is seeking re-election to his own seat. That puts five of the nine people on council on the ballot.
Mayor Ian Boddy and Councillor Jon Farmer have said publicly they are not seeking re-election. Councillors Travis Dodd and Marion Koepke have not registered for any office.
O’Leary has held office in Owen Sound before. He was elected councillor in 2014, won the deputy mayor’s race in 2018, and lost it to Greig in 2022, taking 2,233 votes to Greig’s 3,717. He is running for a council seat rather than a rematch.
Robertson ran for council in 2022 and finished eighth with 2,723 votes, 193 behind Kukreja and the last seat.
Eight council candidates did not appear on the City’s 2022 candidate list: Adams, Arakal, Bianco, Rockwell, Sargent, Schinbein, Stow and Walton.
The Mayor’s Race
Registered for mayor: Ray Botten, Jodi King, Carol Merton, Mike Seiler, Richard Thomas and Andrii Zvorygin. The field is unchanged since August 12.
Merton is the only sitting member of council in the mayoral race. Thomas sat on council from 2014 to 2022 and ran for mayor that year, losing to Boddy. Botten has run for mayor before, including in 2022 and 2018.
No Contest for Deputy Mayor
Greig is the only registered candidate for deputy mayor. If no one files against him by 2 p.m. on August 21, he is acclaimed.
The imbalance matters because of what the office carries. Owen Sound sends two people to Grey County council: the mayor and the deputy mayor. Six candidates are contesting one of those seats. One has filed for the other.
How to Reach the Candidates
Contact information as published on the City of Owen Sound’s candidate list, current to August 16.
Mayor
Ray Botten — 519-377-8492, botten4mayor@gmail.com
Jodi King — 226-568-6260, kingjodi99@gmail.com
Carol Merton — 519-477-8192, cmerton@sympatico.ca
Mike Seiler — 519-375-6585, mike@map.ca, map.ca
Richard Thomas — 519-270-6513, thomasformayor2026@gmail.com
Andrii Zvorygin — 226-256-1632, andrii@zvorygin.ca, mayorofowensound.ca
Deputy Mayor
Scott Greig — 519-377-8446, scottgreig25@yahoo.ca
Councillor
David Adams — 519-372-2409, dcadams1962@icloud.com, electdavidadams.site
Thomas Arakal — 902-955-7510, thommanarakal@gmail.com, sites.google.com/view/arakal
Justin Bianco — 905-802-7853, justin.bianco4council@gmail.com
Brock Hamley — 226-256-8863, info@brockhamley.ca
Jaret Koop — jaretkoopos@gmail.com
Suneet Kukreja — 226-923-2369, suneetkukreja@gmail.com
Melanie Middlebro’ — 519-374-9570, votemelanie4council@gmail.com
Brian O’Leary — 519-379-1817, olearyb@rogers.com
Meghan Robertson — meghanrobertsonforowensound@gmail.com, meghanrobertson.ca
Jeff Rockwell — rockwelljeff1977@gmail.com
Tamara Sargent — electsargentforcouncil@gmail.com, electsargentforcouncil.neocities.org
David William Schinbein — 250-661-9472
Angela Stow — 226-974-2088, angelastow4@gmail.com
David Walton — 519-447-8202, tremwalt@gmail.com
Six candidates have posted campaign websites to the City’s list. The others list phone or email contact only. The City’s list shows no phone number for four council candidates and no email address for one.
Where to Hear From Candidates
One Owen Sound all candidates event has been announced so far: an all-candidates meeting hosted by the Owen Sound & District Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, October 6, at the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. Start time to be announced.
The Chamber has not announced a moderator or question format for its meeting.
Owen Sound Current will begin surveying candidates once the nomination lists are finalized by the municipalities.
Trustee Races
The Current last reported Owen Sound school board registrations on August 12, when Rachael Golem and Eric Lapointe were registered for Conseil scolaire Viamonde and no candidate had registered to represent Owen Sound on the Bluewater District School Board, the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board or Conseil scolaire catholique Providence. That has not changed.
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