ML mayor talks election

The nomination packages for potential candidates to fill the roles of mayor and six councillor seats were made available last week and according to Seymour, who has been the official mayor for five years, the important thing is to be involved with community decisions.

According to the Meadow Lake website, nominations will run from now until October 9 and packages may be picked up at City Hall, located at 120 1 St. E. Following the submissions, the returning officer will look to see if there are enough candidates to fill the vacancies. If there are, an election will be called, if not, there will be another call out.

He explained for those who seek a seat at the table, they must understand that they are one voice and transparency and honesty is key.

“You can’t have any secrets basically,” added Seymour, noting there’s an exception for in-camera items.

The mayor said being able to work within their budget is also a priority.

“There’s only so much money available, for operating and capital and items like that the two basic things on the budget – you’ve got to keep within those within those dollar amounts,” he said.

“If there are a whole bunch of items on the budget wish list if you will, and there’s only so much money to go around and not enough to do everything, you’ve got to start picking your priorities as to what we can move forward and what we may have to put off.”

As the nomination packages are being submitted over the next couple of weeks, Seymour said there will be at least one new face in the chambers as Coun. Clay DeBray will not be running again.

“It gives an opportunity for just about a month to bring in new potential councillors, new potential mayor, whatever the case may be,” he said.

While there is somewhat of a salary, the mayor said that’s not why people choose to serve.

“They’re in for the betterment of our community as a whole,” he said.

While the nominations are underway, there will also be new positions to fill within city hall including the role of city manager, an engineer and recreation foreman.

“With our new facility coming up, it will be a… fairly busy job, kind of a new experience because it’s a new facility for the community as a whole,” he said of the latter position.

The website lays out guidelines for interested candidates such as having to be a Canadian citizen, 18 or older on the day of the election, a resident of the community for at least three months and a resident of Saskatchewan for six before submitting their packages.

Moreover, “a person cannot be nominated if they are a judge of a court or an auditor or solicitor of the municipality” and being a city employee is not a disqualifier though they will be required to take leave.

The mayor said he hoped this year there will have a number of candidates to choose from.

“People have an opportunity to with the decision-making of Meadow Lake,” Seymour said. “If they feel strongly enough that they could be of help to the city, working with a group of six other members on council and helping make the decisions for moving forward… down the road as to what happens in our community, definitely put your name forward.”

The general election will be held on November 13 and advance polls are scheduled for November 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., November 4 from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., November 6 from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.

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julia.lovettsquires@pattisonmedia.com

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by Julia Lovett-Squires

ML mayor talks election

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