The mayoral race in Smithers sees a challenger put their name against incumbent Gladys Atrill.
Murray Hawse has lived in Smithers since 1985 and has sat on numerous boards within the community including the Child Development Society Board and the High Roads Society Board.
Additionally, he was a 23 year member of the Smithers Volunteer Fire Department and a retired Financial Advisor from Edward Jones.
According to Hawse, he has been thinking about the idea to run for quite some time but he wasn’t sure if he had the time to commit to the municipality as he was still working.
He said he decided that he needs to become more involved in the community.
“I love this community, we’ve been here, this is home, we’ve got three children here, we have a grandson here, I just want to make it the best community we can for everybody,” Hawse said.
He added that he is currently in the process of reading over the council minutes and there is not one particular issue he is bringing forward.
“I can’t say there’s one issue, I think there’s multiple issues but the one thing I did learn in all my years of being a leader is that you can’t focus on 10,15 or 20 things, you’ve got to set some priorities,” Hawse said.
“It’s going to be exciting because there are so many potential new councillors but, so many new ideas, it’s really an exciting time in Smithers I think,” Hawse said.
He added that it is a really exciting time for Smithers as there will be new faces around the council table as four of the current councillors are not seeking re-election.
Incumbents Frank Wray and John Buikema put their name forward once again and will be joined by fellow candidates Sam Raven, Nick Briere, Calvin Elliott, Adam Koch, Laura Leonard, Jason McCrindle and Genevieve Paterson.
General Election Day will be held on October 15 and there will be a chance to vote early at Town Hall on October 5 and October 12.