Two of the North Shore’s three mayoral races have been decided before the campaign even begins, with District of West Vancouver Mayor Michael Smith and District of North Vancouver Mayor Richard Walton both running unopposed.
The City of North Vancouver, meanwhile, has a three-way race pitting incumbent Mayor Darrell Mussatto up against challengers Kerry Morris and George Pringle.
The 2014 municipal and school board elections nomination period closed Friday at 4 p.m., bringing 80 candidates out of the woodwork for the North Shore’s three councils and two school boards.
At the city council table, five of the six incumbents are seeking re-election: Don Bell, Craig Keating, Rod Clark, Pam Bookham and Linda Buchanan. Guy Heywood is not running for a third term.
New (or returning) to the city ballot are former councillor Bill Bell, former school trustee Dorothy Bell, project manager and former North Van Urban Forum member Tony Valente, Lower Lonsdale minister Dave Janis, restaurateur Iani Makris, renovation contractor and returning 2011 candidate Joe Heilman, project manager Matt Clark, facilitator Kathy McGrenera, physiotherapist and council watcher Amanda Nichol, Ron Sostad, John Harvey, Via Fearnley, and Holly Back, who previously ran for district council.
The District of North Vancouver has drawn 14 would-be council members, only four of whom are on council today — Robin Hicks, Lisa Muri, Doug MacKay-Dunn and Roger Bassam. Mike Little is leaving to run for the federal Conservatives and Alan Nixon is retiring from politics.
Also on the ballot are lawyer and former North Vancouver-Seymour NDP candidate Jim Hanson, council watcher and critic Hazen Colbert, business owner Wayne Hunter, engineer and former president of the North Shore Mountain Biking Association Mathew Bond, marketing consultant Len Laycock, teacher and anti-density campaigner Glenn MacKenzie, mortgage broker Linda Findlay, real estate agent and 2011 candidate Kevin Macauley, talent agent Connie deBoer and Amelia Hill.
In West Vancouver Trish Panz is the only council member not seeking a return. Michael Lewis, Nora Gambioli, Bill Soprovich, Craig Cameron and Mary-Ann Booth have all filed their nomination papers.
Former council members Michael Evison and Carolanne Reynolds are running for a seat at the table after one and two terms away, respectively. Also bidding for a spot are former West Vancouver-Capilano NDP candidate Terry Platt, actor Max Clough, retired MacMillan Bloedel executive Jim Finkbeiner, jewelry designer and Cedardale PAC chairwoman Joanna Baxter, financial advisor Christine Cassidy, film industry vice-president Jon Johnson, architect Peter Lambur, and Ali Mallakin, a director at West Coast Biomedius
West Vancouver’s school board will have at least three new trustees as former chairwoman Cindy Dekker and trustees Reema Faris and Jane Kellet are not running again. Back on the ballot are Carolyn Broady and David Stevenson. Aiming to win a spot on the board are Irene Leschert, Nicole Brown, Robert Inman, Sheelah Donahue, Pieter Dorsman, and Jim Boyd.
There are eight candidates vying for the three North Vancouver school board seats reserved for city residents and 12 for the district’s four seats.
City candidates include incumbents Susan Skinner and Christie Sacré, as well as Megan Higgins, Tanya Lahulek, Bill Vassilis Papandreou, Mary Tasi, Antje Wilson and Erika Warkentin.
Incumbent board chairwoman Franci Stratton, vice-chairwoman Cyndi Gerlach and trustee Barry Forward have all aimed to hold their district seats. Incoming district candidates are Susan Lockhart, Dave Jackson, Edward Desaulniers, Shane Nelson, Jessica Stanley, Yael Drinkle, Kelly Muirhead, Heather Skuse and Bobbi-Lynn Nestor.
Candidates planning to drop out of the election must withdraw their papers by Oct. 17 in order to get their names off the ballot.
