A wide shot showing multiple signs of the candidates running in the upcoming Chestermere by-election in Chestermere on Thursday, June 13, 2024. The byelection will be held on June 24, the advance polls open on June 15. (Photo by Uddamveer Singh/The Press)
Chestermere residents will elect five city councillors and a mayor in the upcoming byelection on June 24. Advance polls will open on June 15. Voters can cast their vote from 8 a.m. to 8 a.m. at the Curling Rink – Chestermere Recreation Centre.
After six months since the province dismissed mayor Jeff Colvin and three other city councillors – Mel Foat, Blaine Funk and Stephen Hanley for failing to act on demands by the province to fix the dysfunctional government of the city. The Chestermere byelection is taking place to fill the vacant seats of the mayor and the dismissed councillors, as well as two other vacant seats of city councillors – Sandy Johal-Watt, who resigned from her position and since has taken a job in the city administration and Shannon Dean, who resigned from his position to run for the mayor in the byelection. The city’s administration is currently overseen by Douglas Lagore, Official Administrator (OA) until the vacancies of the city council are filled through a democratic byelection.
In May 2022, the Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver ordered an inspection of the management, administration and operations of Chestermere. The inspection was done by George Cuff & Associates Ltd. The report was completed in September 2022 and highlighted multiple problems in the manner city was run. Some of the issues included disagreement among members of the council, not sharing important information, some members trying to gain more power and the council not adhering to rules consistently.
In March 2023, after considering the inspection report and all responses from council and administration former Minister of Municipal Affairs Rebecca Schulz determined that the city was being managed in an irregular, improper, and improvident manner. Schulz issued 12 binding directives for council and the chief administrative officers (CAOs). She also re-appointed the OA to supervise the council and ensure the implementation of the directives in order to restore the good governance within the city.
In October 2023, McIver provided notice to all seven members of council and the three appointed CAOs to issue a ministerial order that would dismiss them from their respective elected and appointed roles. The members of the council were given two weeks to respond to McIver’s notice.
On December 4, 2023, the Alberta government fired Colvin, Foat, Funk and Hanley. Out of whom all of them are running in the upcoming byelection to regain their lost positions.
The topic of trust is becoming an interesting factor in the elections with candidates sharing their thoughts on importance of trust of the leaders, who people elect democratically.
“I think that as a leader, trust is earned every day,” said Dean. “I do think that our new council is going to face a bit of a uphill battle when it comes to regaining trust and I think some of the things that are on my platform, they're going to help regain some of the things on my platform will help to regain trust.”
“Council has lost trust of its citizens,” said Robert Schindler, a candidate running up for the city councillor. “I am hoping that because I'm new to politics, I have no skin in the game, I have no affiliations with anybody, I have no business contacts and I am going to make no money from my time in council.”
“Whoever gets to council this time is just going to need to be really consistent, do the boring things day after day to prove that they're worthy of trust,” said Janelle Sandboe, a candidate running for the city councillor.
Similar priorities like schools, recreational centres and infrastructure can be found on the election signages of almost all the candidates.
“I would say the biggest challenge that we are facing right now in Chestermere are schools and we all of our schools right now are bursting at the seams,” said Dean.
“Municipalities do not build schools and I want to be really clear about that but what municipalities do is they ensure that sites are site ready.”
“We have to do everything that we have to do to ensure that sites are site ready so that the school boards can go ahead and put it on their priority list so that then the province can do with it,” he added.
The elected members in the byelection will be in the governing position until October 2025, when the regular or the usual election takes place again.
Here’s the list of all 23 candidates running up for the city councillor:
Janelle Sandboe
Hoda Birani
Scot Caithness
Gopal Krishan Saini
Vaishali Kumar
Rick Schell
Kiran Randhawa
Gurpreet Singh Toor
Mary Moojelsky
Satvir Singh Sahota
Robert Schindler
Tammy Gates
Gagandeep Shergill
David Beriault
Mel Foat
Olimphya Hermosillo de Elizondo
Jasbir (Jesse) Minhas
Sean Swart
Cyndie McOuat
Rob Wawrzynowski
Blaine Funk
Stephen Hanley
Murray Grant
Here’s the list of all four candidates running up for the mayor:
Jeff Colvin
Shannon Dean
Marshall Chalmers
Chris Steeves
A wide shot of the City Hall of Chestermere in Chestermere on Thursday, June 13, 2024. The City Hall will see a new council by the end of June, as result of the upcoming by-election. (Photo by Uddamveer Singh/The Press)