The municipal candidates pool, less, than 48 hours out from the registration deadline, has changed sharply since we last reviewed all 17 lower-tier municipalities in Grey and Bruce on August 9.
Georgian Bluffs had no registered council candidates on August 9 and now has seven for five seats. Northern Bruce Peninsula had a single name on the ballot for any municipal office, and now has five candidates across three offices, including the sitting mayor. West Grey has gone from three council candidates to seven.
South Bruce Peninsula has the tightest ratio in either county: 11 candidates for 3 council seats. Grey Highlands has 10 for 5 seats and Owen Sound 16 for 7. Blue Mountains and Meaford each have nine for five. Saugeen Shores has five candidates for the two Southampton ward seats.
Owen Sound has the region’s largest mayoral field at six. It also has the region’s most conspicuous gap: one candidate for deputy mayor, an office that carries one of the city’s two seats at Grey County council.
Some offices remain uncontested going into the final two days:
Georgian Bluffs, Southgate and Arran-Elderslie each have a single candidate for both mayor and deputy mayor.
West Grey and Brockton each have one candidate for mayor.
Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss, Meaford, Northern Bruce Peninsula and Owen Sound each have one candidate for deputy mayor.
Northern Bruce Peninsula has two candidates for three council seats.
Everything below reflects the candidate lists published on municipal websites as of 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, August 19.
These lists are unofficial. Clerks must certify nominations by 4 p.m. on Monday, August 24, and certified lists will be published from that date. Contact information for candidates is on each municipality’s election page.
Nominations close Friday, August 21 at 2 p.m. Candidates may withdraw up to the same deadline, so every field below can shrink as well as grow.
City of Owen Sound
Twenty-three candidates are registered across the three municipal offices — up from 21 on August 16.
Mayor (6): Ray Botten, Jodi King, Carol Merton, Mike Seiler, Richard Thomas, Andrii Zvorygin.
Deputy mayor (1): Scott Greig.
Council, seven seats (16): David Adams, Thomas Arakal, Ross Eugene Baker, Justin Bianco, Dale Funston, Brock Hamley, Jaret Koop, Suneet Kukreja, Melanie Middlebro’, Brian O’Leary, Meghan Robertson, Jeff Rockwell, Tamara Sargent, David William Schinbein, Angela Stow, David Walton.
Baker and Funston are new since the Current last reported the field on August 16. The council field now stands three above the 13 who contested the same seats in 2022.
Three sitting councillors are seeking re-election to council: Hamley, Kukreja and Middlebro’. Councillor Carol Merton is running for mayor and Deputy Mayor Scott Greig for his own seat, putting 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.
If no one files against Greig by 2 p.m. Friday, he is acclaimed.
School Board Trustees
Trustee seats appear on the same ballot as municipal offices, and most cover several municipalities at once, so the same candidate’s name shows up on candidate lists across the region. Nominations for the two French-language boards are filed with the City of Barrie and the City of Sarnia respectively, which means municipal lists may lag on those races.
Owen Sound now has trustee candidates on three of four boards. On August 12 it had one. Michael Dunn has registered for the Bluewater District School Board and Suriya Thomas for the Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board, joining Rachael Golem and Eric Lapointe for Conseil scolaire Viamonde.
Bluewater District School Board (English public):
Michael Dunn in Owen Sound
Angela Forder in The Blue Mountains and Meaford
Leslie Patrick Medve in Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth
Tracy Schaus-Atkinson in Hanover and West Grey
Wayne Peeters in Southgate and Grey Highlands
Katie Lutz and Julia Bates in Saugeen Shores and Arran-Elderslie
Jan Johnstone in Kincardine and Huron-Kinloss
Terry Boyd-Zhang in Brockton and South Bruce
Robert Galbraith and Jason Yip in Northern Bruce Peninsula and South Bruce Peninsula
Dunn, Bates and Yip are new since August 9.
Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board (English separate):
Suriya Thomas in Owen Sound, The Blue Mountains and Meaford
Lucie Desbiens in Georgian Bluffs, Chatsworth, Saugeen Shores, Arran-Elderslie, South Bruce Peninsula and Northern Bruce Peninsula
Francis-Joseph Gross and Jessica Marin in Hanover, West Grey, Southgate and Grey Highlands
Lori Di Castri in Kincardine, Huron-Kinloss and Brockton’s Ward 31;
Linda Strader in Brockton’s Wards 34 and 36
Beverley Eckensweiler in South Bruce.
Conseil scolaire Viamonde (French public): Eric Lapointe and Rachael Golem appear on nearly every list reviewed. Golem was registered in a single municipality on August 9 and now appears across both counties.
Conseil scolaire catholique Providence (French separate): No candidate has registered anywhere in Grey or Bruce.
Grey County
Town of the Blue Mountains
Mayor: Peter Bordignon, Marni Moreau, Paul Reale. Bordignon is the sitting deputy mayor. Mayor Andrea Matrosovs is not seeking re-election.
Deputy mayor: Gail Ardiel, Rachel Gilliland.
Council, five seats: Brayden DeWitt, Paula Hope, Sean Kelly, Meghan Loney, Alexander Maxwell, Shawn McKinlay, George McLeod, Sean McMurray, June Porter.
Municipality of Meaford
Mayor: Shirley Keaveney, Justin Perks. Keaveney is the sitting deputy mayor. Mayor Ross Kentner is not seeking re-election.
Deputy mayor: Robert Uhrig.
Council, five seats: Tony Bell, Darcy Chapman, John Clark, Eric Ennis, Brandon Forder, Amanda Greenfield, Jim McPherson, Elgin Pecjak, Adam Vaughan. Meaford’s list is dated August 18.
Township of Georgian Bluffs
Mayor: Susan Carleton.
Deputy mayor: Grant Pringle.
Council, five seats: Ejaye McComb, Brad McRoberts, Gary McMillan, Jarod Outridge, Johanna (Ann) Schneider, Isaac Shouldice, Rick Winters. The township showed no registered council candidates when the Current reviewed its list on August 9.
Township of Chatsworth
Mayor: Terry McKay, Shawn Greig. McKay is the sitting deputy mayor; Greig is a sitting councillor. Mayor Scott Mackey has not filed.
Deputy mayor: Diana Rae, Peter Whitten.
Council, three seats: J.D. Ceaser, Barry Jackson, Brenda Robertson, Margie Stafford.
Municipality of Grey Highlands
Mayor: Mark Brown, Paul McQueen, Dane Nielsen. McQueen is the sitting mayor and Nielsen the sitting deputy mayor.
Deputy mayor: Tom Allwood, Joel Loughead.
Council, five seats: Paul Allen, Don Alp, James Black, Janet Carson, David Clarke, Emmett Ferguson, Xerxes Khalkhaly, Blake Martin, David Russell, Daniel Wickens. Black filed Wednesday.
Town of Hanover
Mayor: Warren Dickert, Sue Paterson. Paterson is the sitting mayor and Dickert the sitting deputy mayor.
Deputy mayor: Richard Emrich, Selwyn Hicks.
Council, five seats: Siobhan Hanley, David Hocking, Carol Hudson, Brandon Koebel, Mandie Malott, Daniel Parrish, Alina Rehkopf.
Municipality of West Grey
Mayor: Kevin Eccles.
Deputy mayor: Rebecca Marie Hergert, Thomas Hutchinson.
Council, five seats: Scott Foerster, Jordan Hoxie, Jenny Parsons, Kimberley Anne Peeters, Geoffrey Shea, Deidter Stadnyk, Stephen Townsend.
Township of Southgate
Mayor: Brian Milne.
Deputy mayor: Barbara Dobreen.
Council, five seats: Jim Ferguson, Joan John, David Kopp, Samantha Erin Parent, Michael Sherson, Martin Shipston, Kristy Taylor. Parent filed August 18.
Bruce County
Town of Saugeen Shores
Mayor: Luke Charbonneau, Jeff James, Brian Putman. Charbonneau was acclaimed in 2018 and 2022.
Deputy mayor: Odette Bartnicki, Diane Huber, Peter Stanley.
Vice deputy mayor: Bud Halpin, Don Matheson; David Myette withdrew August 4. Each ward elects two councillors.
Port Elgin ward: Dane Buttenaar, Tamara McDonald, Rachel Stack; Halpin withdrew August 4 to run for vice deputy mayor.
Saugeen ward: Neil Sarginson, Sterling Thiele, Eric Tolton.
Southampton ward: John Divinski, Cheryl Grace, Harry Mazmanian, Cathe McIntosh, Brenda Reeves. Buttenaar filed Wednesday.
Municipality of Kincardine
Mayor: Kenneth Craig, Barb Fisher, Bill Stewart. Stewart is a sitting councillor.
Deputy mayor: Rory Cavanagh, a sitting councillor.
Council is elected under a hybrid at-large and ward system.
At-large: Mike Hinchberger, Michael McKechnie, Darrel Perry, Ali Shah.
Ward 1: Russ Crook, Jennifer Prenger.
Ward 2: Michael Ferrier, Kyle McKay.
Ward 3: Amanda Steinhoff-Gray.
Municipality of Brockton
Mayor: Chris Peabody, acclaimed in 2022 and again alone on the ballot.
Deputy mayor: Tim Elphick, Kym Hutcheon.
Council, five seats: Steve Adams, Mitch Clark, Mike Crawford, Justin Hoffarth, Gregory McLean, Christine Robinson, Steve Travale. Adams filed Wednesday.
Municipality of Arran-Elderslie
Mayor: Steve Hammell.
Deputy mayor: Jennifer Shaw.
Five wards each elect a councillor.
Arran: Ryan Nickason.
Elderslie: Brian Dudgeon, Alicia Mariano.
Chesley: Sara-Lynne Leask.
Paisley: Heidi Maxwell, David Stone, Patricia Wright.
Tara: Joel MacCallum, Rick Mikula.
Chesley and Tara had no registered candidates on August 9.
Municipality of Northern Bruce Peninsula
Mayor: Brad Gesinghaus, Milt McIver. McIver, mayor since 1999, filed August 12.
Deputy mayor: Rod Anderson.
Council, three seats: Paul Davidson, Todd Dowd.
On August 9, Gesinghaus was the only name on the ballot for any municipal office in the municipality.
Town of South Bruce Peninsula
Mayor: John David Close, Janice Jackson, Jay Kirkland, Bill Klingenberg. Kirkland was elected deputy mayor in 2022 and appointed mayor in 2023 after Garry Michi resigned; this is his first mayoral election. Jackson was mayor from 2014 to 2022.
Deputy mayor: Caleb Hull, Ana Vukovic. Hull is the sitting deputy mayor; Vukovic finished second to Jackson in the 2018 mayoral race.
Council, three seats: Merri Aiken, John Terrence Bell, Paul Stephen Deacon, Kathy Durst, Ann Marie Hadcock, Betty Hall, Kevin Holgate, Garry Michi, Christine Thomas, Kevin White, Cory Young. Michi was mayor from 2022 until his resignation in 2023.
The town’s list was last updated August 12 and does not reflect any filings since.
Township of Huron-Kinloss
Mayor: Don Murray, Shawn Plante.
Deputy mayor: James Hanna.
Council, five seats: Shari Flett, Scott Gibson, Tracy Irwin, Kirk Livingston, Ed McGugan, Carl Sloetjes.
Municipality of South Bruce
Mayor: Mark Goetz, Mike Niesen.
Teeswater-Culross ward: Tim Borho, Julia Gutscher.
Mildmay-Carrick ward: Ashton Metcalfe, Ron (Huck) Schnurr; David Wood withdrew.
At-large: Rob Fischer, Rita Groen, Nigel Van Dyk.
The municipality’s list is dated August 19. Teeswater-Culross had no registered candidate on August 9.
What’s Next
Municipalities must certify nominations by 4 p.m. on Monday, August 24.
Where seats remain unfilled, a second nomination window opens Wednesday, August 26 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., with clerks certifying or rejecting those nominations by 4 p.m. on Thursday, August 27.
If a seat is still empty after that, no one is elected to it, and the new council must fill it within 60 days, either by appointing someone or by calling a by-election. Which of those applies is set by a policy each municipality was required to adopt before the election.
Voting day is Monday, October 26.
Voting methods, advance periods and Election Centre locations vary by municipality — internet and telephone in some, paper ballots in others.
Residents can be added to the voters’ list at their municipal office from September 1 with identification showing name and qualifying address, or register during the voting period.
Owen Sound Current will publish the certified fields once clerks confirm them, and will begin surveying candidates at that point.
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