Councillor Gladys Atrill confirmed Sunday (Feb 2) she will be running for mayor when the byelection gets called.
According to Atrill, this isn’t a big announcement for her but simply an indication that she’s committed to the work.
Atrill has been acting mayor after former mayor Taylor Bachrach took a leave of absence to focus on his federal campaign. On Oct 21, 2019, Bachrach won the federal election becoming the Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP and submitted his resignation, she has since been continuing her role as acting mayor.
Atrill said she is looking forward to getting out into the community and having a chance to talk with residents on where they see the future of the community.
“I’m just a really big fan of this community it’s been my home my whole life, I’m always proud of the things that happen here and if there’s an opportunity to continue working with Smithers and for Smithers, I’m just really excited about that chance,” she said.
Council is waiting for the response of the $12.8 million dollar library grant application.
She also said she checks to see if Council received the grant every day.
“It’s sort of a day by day thing I look at it every day and I’m hopeful the announcement will be soon and that it will be positive,” she said.
If Atrill loses the byelection for mayor she will be off Council entirely.
She was elected to Council in November 2014 and was re-elected in 2018.