(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
August 22, 2014 - 12:05 PM
KAMLOOPS - While current council members and several others have already announced their intention to run for city council this fall they can now make it official.
As of this week nomination packages are available at City Hall and online for those wishing to run for mayor, council or school trustee. The packages must be filed between Sept. 30 and Oct. 10.
So far all of the current council has said they will be running again and Dieter Dudy, Peter Kerek and Bob Dieno have also said they intend to run for a council seat. No one has said they will be challenging Mayor Peter Milobar for his seat.
In total one mayor, eight councillors and five school trustees will be elected Nov. 15 in Kamloops.
This election will be the beginning of a change to four year terms, up from the three year terms currently being served. The term will run from December 2014 through October 2018. This year additional polling stations will also be added to make it easier for people to vote.
Two groups of concerned citizens are coming together to host a dinner to talk about voter turnout and democratic engagement next week as well. They hope to find a way to significantly increase the amount of people voting in the community. In 2011 Kamloops saw a voter turnout of just under 30 per cent, just 0.21 per cent above the provincial average. The local voters society is hoping to bump that turnout to 40 per cent in the 2014 election.
The dinner will take place Thursday, Aug. 28 at the Coast Hotel and Conference Centre on Rogers Way with funds raised split between the Canadian Community for Dialogue and Deliberation and the Kamloops Vote 50 Campaign.
To contact a reporter for this story, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infonews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014