It’s a veritable landslide — of candidates.
The number of names vying to become Neebing’s next mayor in the Oct. 26 municipal election has reached nearly half a dozen.
The list, which includes a combination of council veterans and newcomers, was numbered at five as of Monday, according to the municipality’s website.
Local election officials noted the current list has even exceeded the ample mayoral lineup for the 2010 vote, which had swelled to four candidates by voting day in that year.
“Five candidates (posted so far) are the most we’ve had in recent history,” Neebing clerk-treasurer Erika Kromm said on Monday.
With an extensive candidate list, some vote-splitting could be inevitable on election night, predicts council veteran Gordon Cuthbertson.
“I couldn’t pick a winner (for mayor), it’s going to be an interesting night,” said Cuthbertson, who is seeking a seat as a Scoble ward councillor.
By contrast, Shuniah, which has a larger population than Neebing, has so far only registered one candidate for that municipality’s mayoral seat — incumbent Wendy Landry.
Interested candidates considering a run for Neebing mayor and the municipality’s six councillor positions have less than a month to put their names in by the filing deadline, which falls on Aug. 21.
Neebing’s 2022 election was a two-way race. Current and outgoing Mayor Mark Thibert defeated Ziggy Polkowski, a previous mayor, by a margin of 437-260.
Thibert, another council veteran, announced earlier this year that he would not be seeking a second term as head of council.
In the spring, many Neebing property owners were outraged when council proposed a property-standards bylaw.
Though the planned bylaw was a common house-keeping measure used by many Ontario municipalities, it was shelved after several residents packed town hall in opposition.
As emotion over the bylaw came to a head, at one point Thibert received a threat and a local elderly man was charged by the OPP.
According to the Ontario Court of Justice, the charge against the accused man has been withdrawn.
As of Monday, the list of Neebing’s mayoral candidates who have filed nomination papers include Joey Busch, Obie Egbuchulam, Florence Maclean, Ziggy Polkowski and Brian Wright.
As of Tuesday the list of Candidates running in Fort Frances has not changed since the last filing by Anthony Andrusco on June 30.
There are currently only two candidates for mayor, incumbent councilor John McTaggart and Brent Calder.
Candidates don’t become certified until Aug. 24. The new council’s next four-year term begins on Nov. 15.
