Six Nations is gearing up for a busy weekend with Six Nations Elected Council's (SNEC) by-election taking place on Saturday, Sept. 3. Four candidates have been campaigning for the spot on elected council since the departure of former Coun. Wendy Johnson.

Alaina VanEvery, Nick Wyman, Vernice Hill, and Gregory Frazer will be vying for the former councillor's spot. The by-election comes with just one year left in term before the general election will take place next year.

Alaina VanEvery and Nick Wyman were both able to sit down with CJKS and talked about the campaign so far and some goals and ideas they hope to bring to SNEC and the community if elected.

VanEvery, who ran previously in the 2019 general election, says her platform has stayed similar to her previous platform.

"So from the last (election), the front of my card says that my focus was water, health and wellness, and social equity" VanEvery said.

"We still have a water crisis going on, a lot of people are seeing the water lines being put in but can't connect and it's out of almost everybody's price range. Eight to ten thousand dollars is not something that people have laying around," the candidate added. "There is a program now where they are trying to get people hooked up, I would like to keep advancing that and make it more accessible to everyone.

VanEvery went on to say that health is a priority.

"Health and wellness is super important because that is what's going to create a greater number of people trying to create a greater community" she added.

Nick Wyman also ran for council back in 2019. He said the support he received during that campaign was enough to bring him back once again looking to be elected.

"In the last term. where we had the new election code, I had the better part of 300 people vote for me," Wyman said. "And that kind of gave me that kind of oomph that it's like 'okay, that's enough people that put their trust in me, so I only need a few more to get there.' So I figured I owed it to them, to my family and just owed it to myself to keep chugging along and hoping for the best."

Wyman said his plans for council, if elected, will be trying to gain the trust back to the people, resuming in-person council meetings, and holding town halls where community members can come together to discuss issues they are facing and try to come up with solutions for those issues.

"I think one of the the biggest things is just gaining the trust back of the people. They really do feel that in-camera meetings and how everything is kind of hidden now because even when it is on Zoom, yes they do post the meetings and they do give you an opportunity to be a part of it. But when the questions are given, I notice they kind of cherry pick which they're going to answer," he continued.  "When you're in person, things are a little bit different and I believe some more issues do get resolved."

Wyman spoke on his town-hall style meetings and vowed that he will still go through with holding the meetings for community members voices to be heard, whether he is elected or not.

"One of my big things that I'd like to see happening that I will do, personally, regardless of whether council mandates this or not, but if I'm fortunate enough to get elected I want to do a town hall type meeting at my restaurant. They could be held monthly or bi-monthly and bring the people, the youth, whoever wants to come out, in a safe place and just express their feelings about this community and what we can do, where the problems are, what we can do better," he said. "And [I would] try to make it informal so that everybody feels comfortable opening up and talking about what they feel and what they'd like done."

Both Vanevery and Wyman expressed their hopes for a large turnout for this weekend's by-election that coincides with the Labour Day holiday weekend.

Vernice Hill and Gregory Frazer did not respond to the request for the interview from CJKS.

Advanced polls open today from 4-8 p.m. at the Dajoh Centre in Ohsweken.

Election Day takes place on Sept. 3 from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m. also at the Dajoh Centre.

Voters will need proof of being a Six Nations band member and present a valid Indian Status Card at the time of voting.

Listen to the full CJKS interview with candidate Alaina VanEvery here:

Listen to the full CJKS interview with candidate Nick Wyman here: