Candidates vying for spot on council in Taber byelection

According to Chief Returning Officer, Jeanne Rudolf, the byelection is being held because former Councillor Alf Rudd resigned in late June.

“As per the Municipal Government Act Section 162, ‘A council must hold a by-election to fill a vacancy on council’.” Rudolf said. “The by-election is a legal requirement all municipalities must follow unless the vacancy occurs within 18 months before a general election. The next election is not until October 2025, therefore the Town was required to fill this vacancy to allow for the citizens of Taber to be served by a full complement of elected officials.”

Nomination Day, Rudolf says, was on August 10 and the list was made official on August 11. Now, seven locals are in the running: Cat Champagne, Ian Croft, Mike Krchnak, Mani Parhar, Daniel Remfert, Dale Tilleman and Naomi Wiebe. Rudolf says that as per the Local Authorities Election Act, only citizens who reside within the municipal boundaries of the Town of Taber can run in a municipal election for the Town.

“Campaigns may be conducted any time after a candidate is officially nominated and until Election Day, though the Town of Taber does not conduct or assist with any individual campaigns,” Rudolf said.

The actual Election Day, Rudolf says, will be on Thursday, September 7 from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Taber Community Centre Auditorium. For more information about the election, including Advanced Voting dates, visit: http://www.taber.ca/election.

“The elected will hold the role of Councillor, and their duties will be the same as the other six members of Council. Decisions on the committees, boards, and commissions they will sit upon will not be decided until the Organizational Meeting of Council in October 2023,” Rudolf said.

The candidates:

• Cat Champagne sits on the Subdivision Appeal Board for the Town of Taber and also works as the Director of External Relations at the YWCA Lethbridge & District.

• Ian Croft is a lifelong resident and local journalist, recently working as a reporter/photographer at The Taber Times in full-time and freelance roles.

• Mike Krchnak worked in the oil and gas industry for 40 years, raising a family in the community. He is currently self-employed and actively volunteers for minor sports.

• Mani Parhar is a local business owner of the Taber Mini-Mart and a cleaning company. He has Bachelor’s degrees in Commerce and Law in his native India.

• Daniel Remfert is a third generation owner/operator of the historic Royal Hotel and is police commissioner with the Taber Police Commission.

• Dale Tilleman is a former teacher who taught school for more than three decades and has worked for the Alberta Amateur Baseball Council.

• Naomi Wiebe has worked as a manager at the Taber Food Bank, sits on the boards of the Taber Community Action and Prevention Society and Taber and District 4-H, and is a leader of the Taber Corn Dawgs 4-H club.