The nomination period for Tofino’s March 6 byelection opened on Tuesday.
The town is set to elect a new mayor to replace Josie Osborne, who resigned from the position after winning Oct. 24’s provincial election and becoming Mid Island-Pacific Rim MLA.
Two councillor positions will also be up for grabs as both Dan Law and Andrea McQuade have announced they will be running for mayor and were required to resign their council seats to do so.
Anyone interested in running in the byelection, or encouraging a friend to do so, has until Jan. 29 at 4 p.m. to submit their nomination package.
Packages can be found at the district’s website, www.tofino.ca and submitted to Tofino’s chief election officer Elyse Goatcher-Bergmann in person or by mail to District of Tofino, PO Box 9, 121 Third Street, Tofino, B.C., V0R 2Z0.
“Prospective candidates are strongly encouraged to file nomination documents in person by making an appointment with the Chief Election Officer during the nomination period,” reads a notice on the district’s website.
All candidates must be at least 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and have lived in B.C. for at least six months. Candidates do not need to reside in Tofino to run.
Tofino’s last municipal byelection was held in 2019 with six candidates running for one council seat left vacant by the sudden and tragic death of Coun. Dorothy Baert.
That byelection saw a 42 per cent voter turnout with Dan Law besting Ronnie Lee, Cathy Thicke, Stephen Ashton, Craig Heber and Omar Soliman.
andrew.bailey@westerlynews.caLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
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