By Kevin J. Sabo
For the Advance
The 2021 Alberta municipal elections are over for another four years.
In the western half of Paintearth County, things are going to be a mix of old and new for the next four years.
In the Village of Halkirk, with the retirement of Coun. Dennis Cordel, Thomas Schmidt decided to run for Village council, and since no one ran against him, he was acclaimed, and joins incumbents Dale Kent and Sherry Jamieson. The first meeting for the new council of the Village of Halkirk will be Oct. 20.
In Castor, 10 candidates ran for the seven “at-large” positions on council. Incumbents Richard Elhard, Brenda Wismer, Trudy Kilner, and Kevin McDougall all retained their seats in the Oct. 18 election, and they will be joined on council by newcomers Don Sisson, Shawn Peach, and Cecil Yates.
The first council meeting, and organizational meeting, for the new council will take place on Oct. 25.
Over at the County of Paintearth, two of their seven divisions went to the ballot while the remainder were acclaimed. In division four, two-term incumbent Doreen Blumhagen was defeated by challenger Terry Vockeroth.
In division five, incumbent Maurice Wiart was challenged by Dwayne Felzien, with the two ending up in a tie. Following the Local Authorities Election Act, due to the tie both names were placed into a container, then re-drawn, with incumbent Wiart’s name being pulled.
This gave him the 59+1 votes needed to allow him to retain his seat.
George Glazier in division one, Dale Norton in division two, Stan Schulmeister in division three, Sandy Shipton in division six, and Diane Elliot in division seven are the remaining County of Paintearth councillors who were acclaimed to their council positions. With the election done, the new County of Paintearth council will be getting right to work, holding an organizational meeting on Oct. 21, followed by a regular council meeting on Oct. 26.
Barring any by-elections, the next municipal election in the region should be held in October 2025.