The current acting deputy mayor has filed her intentions to run for mayor in the fall municipal election.
Mariane McLeod submitted her application today (June 16) to the clerk's office, and is now the third person to file for the mayor's race.
In a news release, McLeod promised to be respectful of "precious tax dollars" as the town completes the water treatment, recreation, and terminals projects.
"We must lock in what we have learned about transparency and the public trust as we move forward together," said McLeod in the news release.
McLeod was first elected to Collingwood council in 2018 as a councillor. As the sitting councillor with the most votes, she was the county council alternate, and became the acting deputy mayor when the former mayor, Brian Saunderson, took a leave of absence to run for provincial office. The deputy mayor, Keith Hull, became the acting mayor. Both McLeod and Hull's positions are expected to be made official (no longer acting) on or after July 26.
In her term, McLeod was also a member of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority board and served as chair of the board.
Current councillor, Yvonne Hamlin, and former councillor, Norm Sandberg, have also filed an application to run for mayor in the fall. So far there are no candidates for deputy mayor, and there are two candidates for councillor -- current councillor Deb Doherty, and former town staffer Chris Potts.
The municipal election also includes school board trustees. So far, two people have submitted nominations for the school trustee roles.
Shawn Cooper is running for the local trustee position on the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board, and Eric Lapointe is running for the area trustee seat for Conseil scolaire Viamonde.
Nominations for municipal election candidates opened May 2, and will close Aug. 19.
There is an online uncertified list of candidates kept updated by the town's clerk services staff.
There is one upcoming candidate information session, held jointly with area municipalities, to allow those interested in running for municipal office to find out more about the process and requirements.
The next session will be in the council chambers at the Wasaga Beach town hall (30 Lewis Street) on July 12 at 6 p.m.. To pre-register, email [email protected].
The election will take place Oct. 24, 2022.
