Thirty-four candidates will be vying for the 14 positions on New Westminster city council and school board in the 2011 civic election.
Three candidates are hoping to topple incumbent mayor Wayne Wright from the position he's held since 2002. Longtime residents James Crosty and Vance McFadyen are also running for mayor, as is resident Francois Nantel.
All of the incumbents, a couple of former councillors, some previous candidates and a few new faces are in the mix for city council. This year's 18 candidates are: John Ashdown (Voice New Westminster), James Bell, Jonathan Cote (incumbent), Cal Donnelly, Bill Harper (incumbent), Vladimir Krasnogor, Chelsea Lawrence, Gerry Liu, Jaimie McEvoy (incumbent), Betty McIntosh (incumbent), Paul Mulangu, David Noshad, Bob Osterman (incumbent), Gavin Palmer (Voice New Westminster), Chuck Puchmayr, Harp Sihota, Susan Wandell and Lorrie Williams.
Twelve candidates will be vying for the seven seats on the New Westminster school board. A couple of vacancies will open up as incumbents Brent Atkinson and Lori Watt will not be seeking reelection. This year's candidates for school board are: James Bell, Jonina Campbell, Casey Cook (Voice New Westminster), Michael Ewen, Jim Goring (Voice New Westminster), Lisa Graham (Voice New Westminster), James Janzen, Brenda McEachern-Keen (Voice New Westminster), MaryAnn Mortensen (Voice New Westminster), James Pepa, David Phelan and Glen Richmond.
The 2011 municipal election is on Saturday, Nov. 19.
Incidentally, James Bell isn't the first candidate to run for both city council and school board. Recent records indicate that Phillip Shaughnessy ran for both spots in 2005.
ADOPT A VOTER
A local youth has inspired mayoral candidate James Crosty to reach out to younger residents during the 2011 civic election campaign.
A press release from the Crosty campaign states that its new Adopt-A-Voter program was inspired by firsttime voter Henry Beasley, an 18-year-old resident who's interested in the municipal political scene in New Westminster.
"I talk with my friends on Facebook, and we often discuss topics that are important to us. While we are free to discuss problems and come up with solutions, we are not free to vote and bring forward these solutions," he said in the press release. "The Adopt-A-Voter program created by mayoral candidate James Crosty gives us a way to have our voices heard during the election."
The program targets youth under 18 years and suggest they "adopt" a resident who's eligible to vote, discuss their opinions with their adopted voter, recommend which candidates support their views, and convince them to get involved and remind them to get out and vote on Election Day.
According to Crosty, about 21 per cent of eligible voters voted in the 2008 civic election.
