BONNYVILLE - Time is quickly running out for potential candidates still making up their minds as to whether or not they will seek election to Bonnyville Town Council in the 2021 municipal election.
Incumbents Chad Colbourne and Brian McEvoy are hoping to retain their council seats while Zak Eddamni, Philip Kushnir, Neil Langridge and Michael Morris are also vying for councillor roles. Unless anyone else comes forward to file their nomination papers by noon Monday, these six candidates will all be in by acclamation.
However, there will an election for mayor with Elisa Brosseau and Duane Zaraska both looking to replace Gene Sobolewski who is retiring after serving two terms in the chair. Whether any other candidates will join the race remains to be seen.
Brosseau, who was elected as a councillor in 2017, made the commitment to run for the mayor’s chair early on, filing her papers in mid-March.
“I feel like I’m up for the challenge,” Brosseau told Lakeland Today at the time. “I’m ready to take that leadership role and just to help accelerate that vision and bring Bonnyville to the forefront.”
Meanwhile, Zaraska is a new face at the Bonnyville municipal council election level. He was the New Democrat party candidate in the 2015 federal election in the Lakeland federal constituency and is the current Region 2 president of the Métis Nation of Alberta.
Long-time municipal politician Ray Prevost announced earlier this year that after 24 years of council service, he was ready to call it a day.
“I always had an interest in town politics. I followed it pretty close, understood the issues the best I could with the knowledge I had at the time, I took a strong interest in where the town was going,” said Prevost during an interview with Lakeland This Week in May when he announced he would not be seeking a seat at the table this time around.
Rene Van Brabant has also put a cap on a long career in municipal politics. In fact, the 2021 municipal election will be the first time since 1998 that his name hasn’t been on the ballot.
“I’d like to recognize all the councillors and mayors that I’ve worked with and good luck to the future. Always be accountable. The people you have to answer to are the residents of Bonnyville,” Van Brabant said in an interview with Lakeland Today in June.
Lorna Storoschuk confirmed she will not seek another term on council after having served 20 years in municipal politics.
