There will be some familiar faces on local ballots come November 19, but not every councillor in this region will be putting their names forward again.
In Harrison, Councillor Dave Harris has told The Observer he will not seek re-election.
“I am not running again,” he said last week. “I have done six year, and that’s enough. It’s time to move on.”
Incumbent councillors, mayors and other prospective nominees will start filing papers next week indicating their official decision whether to run or not. However, over the last week many local politicians have publicly announced their intentions.
Harrison Mayor Ken Becotte announced his candidacy for mayor at a recent Chamber of Commerce meeting and confirmed with the Observer this week.
“I definitely will be running,” he said, for a second three-year term as mayor. Becotte also served two previous terms as a councillor.
He made his decision easily, he said, as he feels that council is currently moving in the right direction and getting many big projects accomplished.
“The way things are going, I think they’re moving along very well and we’re getting a lot of things accomplished that I wanted to get done,” he said. “We still have some large project that I think we need to move on with.”
He pointed to the waste water treatment project, to be completed in 2012.
With an empty seat on council, he is hoping to see plenty of new names on the ballot.
“I think it’s unfortunate (to lose Dave Harris) because he has been an excellent councillor,” he said. “I’ve been talking to people and encouraging them to run. We need to see some women on council, too.”
As for the rest of Harrison council, Councillor Dave Kenyon has told the Observer he believes he’ll run again.
“I think I will,” he said in a phone message earlier this week. “That’s what people tell me I should do.”
Councillor Allan Jackson will also run, saying there are “critical issues in Harrison that I want to see carried out in the next term.”
Jackson’s work on council has including being a part of environmental boards and committees, in part, and he is hoping that a 200-acre tract of land in Harrison that is currently owned by the government could be secured for the Village to keep in trust.
“It should be used for walking trails and for people to go there and enjoy it, in it’s natural state,” he said. “That’s the last bit of flat land in the valley.”
The Observer was not able to contact Bob Perry by press time.
Nominations for office will be open from October 4 to October 14, the timeframe in which prospective councillors and mayors can put their names forward for the upcoming civic election.
news@ahobserver.com
