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Six people running for City of Port Alberni by-election

Candidates running for seat on council left empty following Coun. John Douglas's passing

Six people will run for a vacant seat on city council in Port Alberni during a December by-election.

Shinahkoh Couture, Debra Hamilton, Richard Huneault, Scott Lemkay, Tom Verbrugge and Brennan Wauters are all vying for the spot left vacant following Coun. John Douglas's death in July. 

City election officer Mark Brown drew the names on Friday, Nov. 8 for the order they will appear on the ballot in the Dec. 14 by-election. The City of Port Alberni's bylaws call for a random draw rather than listing names alphabetically.

Names were drawn out of a top hat that once belonged to Port Alberni's first mayor, Arthur E. Waterhouse, who arrived in the city in 1896 and built a wharf and store. He later built the Somass Hotel (where the Thunderbird Apartments now stand) to service miners in the area.

Nominations closed at 4 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 8.

This is the second time Verbrugge is vying for a position on city council. Verbrugge ran for mayor in October 2022 against incumbent and eventual winner Sharie Minions. He lost by fewer than 200 votes. He also ran unsuccessfully in a by-election for Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District Area F (Cherry Creek)  in March 2023.

Verbrugge said he has attended one council meeting and watched one online since the October 2022 election. Adding his name to the by-election ballot "would give me a couple of years' experience should I decide to run for mayor again," he said.

He is running with a similar platform as his mayoral bid. "I feel we can do better. I think the Somass Lands are more important than the (Quay to Quay pathway). And the swimming pool seems to have dropped off the face of the Earth," he added.

Brennan Wauters submitted his nomination forms at the last minute. "It's kind of happenstance," he said. "I went to look at the development website and there was a notice about the by-election. That was (Wednesday or Thursday). And I saw only a single candidate running. I scrambled to get some nomination names to put my name on the list just to give people another option."

Wauters isn't new to Port Alberni: he has worked here since 2016-17 and bought a house in the city in 2021. He hasn't run in any elections in this city but he is no stranger to the process. He says he ran provincially and federally for the Green parties in Vancouver, Calgary, Similkameen and West Kelowna, not always as a resident of the respective communities.

"This is just one way to engage with the community," he said, "and to bring the principles that I've carried in other elections. My principles are environmental to some degree."

The winning candidate, depending on whether a judicial recount is needed, could be sworn in by Dec. 24 and ready to join council for its first meeting in January 2025. The winning candidate will serve until October 2026, when the rest of council's terms expire.

The public will have a chance to hear from the by-election candidates at an all-candidates meeting hosted by the Alberni Valley Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Dec. 5 at 6 p.m. A location had yet to be announced by the Alberni Valley News' print deadline. Chamber CEO Jolleen Dick said the rules for the municipal by-election panel will be the same as those listed on the chamber's website for a provincial all-candidates' meeting. 

The by-election will take place at Echo Centre on Saturday, Dec. 14 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. There will be two advanced polls, also at Echo Centre, on Wednesday, Dec. 4 and Wednesday, Dec. 11. 

People eligible to vote in the by-election have to be on the provincial voters list. "You have to be either a resident or property owner in the City of Port Alberni," Brown said. Property owners who live outside the city will need to show proof of title in order to vote.

People not on the voters list are still able to add their name to the list, Brown added.

For more information, go online to portalberni.ca and follow the link to the by-election. The Alberni Valley News will also have election information in upcoming print editions as well as online at www.albernivalleynews.com.

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Susie Quinn

About the Author: Susie Quinn

A journalist since 1987, I have been the Alberni Valley News editor since August 2006.
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