Both photos courtesy of Smithers Interior News

The Smithers Municipal by-election is October 17. Smithers has been operating without an official sitting mayor since last October, when then mayor Taylor Bacharach became the representative of the Skeena—Bulkley Valley region in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election.

Gladys Atrill, a Smithers councillor at the time of Bacharach's election stepped in as acting mayor of Smithers.

Atrill stepped down from her seat on council to run for mayor in early September.

Running against Atrill is business owner Joe Bramsleven. Bramsleven self-identifies as "not a politician". He believes this gives him a unique perspective on town matters such as infrastructure and affordable housing needs that he believes have "not been met from the current council [in Smithers]".

The Smithers All Candidates Forum is tonight (Oct. 1) at 7 p.m. on our radio station, 93.9FM Smithers Community Radio.

To hear from our mayoral and council candidates, tune in to smithersradio.com and click on the "listen" link.

Below are clips from our interviews with Gladys Atrill and Joe Bramsleven.