Rainy River, Emo attract big turnout for council seats

There won’t a race for the top job but voters in both Emo and Rainy River will have plenty of choice for who they want to see sitting on their respective councils for the next three years.
Both Emo Reeve Brian Reid and Rainy River Mayor Gord Armstrong were acclaimed for another term at 5 p.m. last night (the deadline for candidates to withdraw their nominations).
But a number of candidates are seeking seats on council in each community. In Emo, incumbents Ken Fisher, Gary Judson and Sean Latimer are vying for the four seats along with newcomers Cecil Ogden, James O’Sullivan, and Jack Winik.
Incumbent Coun. Dale Kaemingh is not seeking re-election.
In Rainy River, incumbents Larry Armstrong, Gerry Marchuk, Bill Marmus, Marilyn McAlister, and Ron Willis are seeking the six seats up for grabs along with newcomers Susan Affleck, Logan Ewald, Edward Tymkin, and Corrie Wiersema.
Incumbent John Delvecchio is not seeking re-election there.
Incumbents Ron McAlister and Ike Dyck were acclaimed to the two seats on the Public Utilities Commission in Rainy River.
Mayor Armstrong felt the interest in Rainy River was spurred by all the new projects happening there.
“Council is trying to look at the future and spur the community on,” he said yesterday, noting the new strategic plan which came out in the spring outlined that.
He also said the town was trying to put together a tourism package with the assistance of FedNor.
“We’ve also got a new hospital coming on stream,” he added.
Reeve Reid noted there’s always been an interest in municipal council in Emo. And to him, it was a good sign that people were interested in making things happen.
“We’ve seldom not had an election for council,” he noted, but adding he wasn’t sure why there wasn’t a race for reeve.
Reeve Reid said he decided to run again because with the provincial downloading, he felt like he was right in the middle of things and wanted to see the changes through.
“I had a lot of pressure to keep doing it from a lot of people,” he added. “I guess I can continue to do it as good as I did the last time.”