Two Fort Erie council seats could be decided this Friday without a vote

Two of Fort Erie’s six council seats will be filled without a single ballot being cast unless someone registers against the incumbents before the nomination deadline at 2 p.m. Friday.

Councillor George McDermott in Ward 1 and Councillor Ann-Marie Noyes in Ward 6 each filed their papers on May 1 and have remained the only registered candidates in their wards for the three and a half months since, according to the candidate list the Town of Fort Erie updates as nominations arrive.

If the deadline passes with no other name added in either ward, both councillors would be acclaimed, a term that means the town clerk declares a candidate elected because no opponent qualified to appear on the ballot.

Residents of Ward 1 and Ward 6 would then receive a ballot on October 26 that contains no councillor contest, although they would still select a mayor and school board trustees alongside every other voter in the municipality.

The most recent addition to the town’s list is Tavis McGlashan, who registered in Ward 4 on Monday and expanded that contest to four candidates.

McGlashan is challenging Councillor Joan Christensen, who filed on May 6, along with Matt Paul and Daniel Turner, who registered in June and July respectively.

Ward 5 has attracted the same number of candidates, where Councillor Tom Lewis is defending his seat against Thomas Mete, Scott Boumeester and Kassandra Ryerson.

Ward 2 was a single-candidate race until August 14, when Jon Nadeau registered against Councillor Nick Dubanow, and Ward 3 has been a two-way contest between Councillor Darren Flagg and Jennifer Priestley since late July.

Four candidates have entered the mayor’s race, where Wayne Redekop, who has been mayor since 2014, is defending the office against regional councillor Tom Insinna, Crystal Beach resident Juan Liu and Mike Campbell, who registered on August 14.

Whoever wins that race will carry more weight outside Fort Erie than any previous mayor of the town, because the province’s Better Regional Governance Act eliminates the separately elected seat that Fort Erie voters have chosen for Niagara Region council.

The reconstituted regional council will consist of the mayors of Niagara’s 12 municipalities and a chair appointed by the province, which leaves the mayor of Fort Erie as the town’s only representative at the regional level.

The town clerk has until August 24 to certify the nominations, a review that confirms each registered candidate meets the legal requirements to seek office and settles the names that will be printed on the ballot.

Fort Erie voters will elect a mayor, six ward councillors and four school board trustees on October 26.

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