DAN CEARNS, The Standard
NORTH DURHAM/KAWARTHA: With under a month until nominations close, several wards and positions across North Durham and Kawartha Lakes municipalities remain either without candidates or races.
In Scugog, Wilma Wotten is currently the lone candidate running for Mayor. Current Ward 1 Councillor Ian McDougall is running to be the next Regional Councillor. There currently is no registered candidate for Ward 1 yet. Janna Guido is seeking re-election as the Ward 2 Councillor. Robert Rock is looking to retain his Ward 3 seat. Longtime resident Harold Wright is running for the Ward 4 Councillor job. Ivo Finotti is looking to become the Ward 5 Councillor.
In Uxbridge, Dave Barton is seeking to retain his job as the Township’s Mayor. Current Ward 3 Councillor Bruce Garrod is running for the Regional Councillor position. Incumbent Councillor, Pam Beach and resident Dominic Morrissey, are both running in Ward 1. Former Councillor Pat Molloy and Gordon Shreeve are running to become the Ward 2 Councillor. Zed Pickering is the lone candidate running to become the next Ward 3 Councillor. Willie Popp is running for re-election in Ward 4. Todd Snooks is looking to keep his job as Ward 5 Councillor but is being challenged by resident Christine McKenzie.
In Brock Township, current councillor Walter Schummer and Sunderland resident Ryan Williams are vying for the Mayor’s role. Regional Councillor Ted Smith withdrew his application in this race. Another current councillor, Michael Jubb, is looking to become the Regional Councillor but is being challenged by Cannington resident Dorothy Sanderson. Peter Frank is the lone candidate running for the Ward 1 Councillor position. Claire Doble is seeking re-election as Ward 2 Councillor. Angela Canavan has filed to run for the Ward 3 Councillor seat. Cria Pettingill is seeking re-election as Ward 4 Councillor. Lynn Campbell is seeking another term as Ward 5 Councillor and will run against Tony Laundrie.
Two candidates have filed to run for the Durham Regional Chair role. They are current Durham Chairman John Henry and former Durham federal election candidate Kurdil-Telt Patch.
There is currently a three-person race for Mayor in Kawartha Lakes, with current councillors Doug Elmslie and Pat Dunn, as well as Joli Scheidler-Benns running for the job. Don Logan has filed to run for the Ward 1 Councillor seat. Pat Warren and Jamie Brown are both running for the Ward 2 Councillor job. Mike Perry and William Denby are both seeking to become the next Ward 3 Councillor. Ian Nicolson has filed to run for the Ward 4 Councillor position, as has Tyler Richards. Duncan Gallacher and Eric Smeaton are campaigning for the Ward 5 job. In Ward 6, there is a race between incumbent Councillor Ron Ashmore and Gerard Jilesen for the ward councillor job. Zachary Tisdale and Charles McDonald have filed to run for the Ward 7 Councillor position. Bethany’s Greg Ward is currently the only candidate running for the Ward 8 Councillor job.
In the 2018 municipal election in Scugog, there were 22 individuals registered to run for positions on Scugog council. There are currently six individuals registered. In Uxbridge, there were 21 individuals registered for the 2018 election. There are currently ten as of now. The 2022 election nomination period closes on Friday, August 19th.