Two wards with no contest unless more municipal candidates come forward by Friday

A section of a map of the town of Tantramar.
A detail from the Elections New Brunswick interactive map showing the five wards in the new town of Tantramar in light brown, with the old town of Sackville and village of Dorchester shaded in orange stripes. Shaded brown areas are parts of the new Southeast rural district. Photo courtesy of Elections NB.
Erica Butler - CHMA - SackvilleNB | 25-10-2022
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Three more candidates have put their names forward for Tantramar municipal elections to be held on Nov. 28. Nominations close on Friday at 2 p.m.

Barry Hicks and Wendy Epworth have both declared their candidacy for Ward 2, which includes parts of the old town of Sackville such as Frosty Hollow, as well as Westcock, British Settlement and the Rockport peninsula. Hicks is the only candidate listed so far on the Elections New Brunswick unofficial list, but Epworth has declared herself on social media, and has until this Friday at 2 p.m. to file official nomination paperwork with Elections NB.

Incumbent Sackville Councillor Bruce Phinney has also put his name in the hat for central Sackville, Ward 3.  There are now four candidates in Ward 3, and four positions available on council representing that ward.  Barring another candidate stepping forward, the four current candidates would be acclaimed on Nov. 28.

Ward 5 Point de Bute is in the same position, with just one candidate, Greg Martin, in line to win the council seat by acclamation unless other candidates come forward before this Friday at 2 p.m.

So far, there are four contests for Tantramar elections:

  • Mayor, Tantramar: Current Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau and Deputy Mayor Andrew Black compete for the top job.
  • Ward 1, Dorchester: Current Dorchester mayor Debbie Wiggins Colwell is running against her deputy mayor Robert Corkerton.
  • Ward 2, West Sackville-Rockport: Two competing newcomers: Barry Hicks and Wendy Epworth.
  • Ward 4, Upper Sackville-Midgic: Two Sackville councillors first elected just last year, Sabine Dietz and Matt Estabrooks, are competing for the same seat.

And there are two wards with no contest, as of yet:

  • Ward 3, Sackville: Three incumbents (Mike Tower, Allison Butcher, and Bruce Phinney) and one newcomer, Josh Goguen are candidates for four seats.
  • Ward 5, Point de Bute: Greg Martin is the only candidate, and is currently on the advisory committee for the Point de Bute Local Service District, as well as on the elected officials advisory committee for Tantramar.

Nominations can be made up to 2 p.m. this Friday, with information available at electionsNB.ca

All residents of the new town of Tantramar will have the chance to vote for mayor of the municipality, but councillors will be elected on a ward-by-ward basis. Elections NB has a PDF map showing the boundaries of the five wards, as well as an interactive map of the new municipality showing wards and polling divisions.

Listen to the CHMA story below: