Not many people are coming out of the woodwork to challenge the incumbents on Oliver Town council.
The only person in the starting blocks is Jeff Ashe, who ran in the 2013 by-election. Ashe finished eighth out of nine candidates.
Larry Schwartzenberger won the by-election, with Maurizio Basso finishing in a close second. Basso hasn’t made up his mind yet whether he will run again.
Rhonda Bruce Mattes, who finished third in the by-election, said she is not seeking a council seat at this time.
Bill Ross, who finished fourth, confirmed that he is not throwing his hat in the ring again. But he said it would be a sad day if the current council is re-elected by acclamation.
Ross said he chose not to run because he’s going on an extended vacation.
“It’s hard to be an absentee councillor for four months of the year.”
By-election challenger Joanne Bray told the Chronicle that she isn’t running again, either.
“The Lions have me too busy being zone chair now and president in Oliver.”
John Micka, who finished sixth in the by-election, hasn’t made up his mind yet as to whether he’s running again.
“I’m not saying no.”
Micka, who did some research, said of 56 possible political positions in Oliver spanning 24 years, 47 positions have been held by 13 “perennial” (two-term plus) politicians. He said only nine positions were held by nine forgettable single-term politicians who never rocked the boat.
“The result is after 24 years, Main Street mirrors much the majority of municipal management mindsets.”
Micka said this begs the question – are Oliver’s politicians entrenched like shell-shocked soldiers or embedded like ticks?
“The answer is ticks voluntarily leave their host after having their fill.”
Micka said his decision to rock the boat on council is still up in the air. “But if Bill Eggert would run for RDOS, I might run for mayor.”
Eggert said he’s not running, noting there’s “too much media getting into private lives.”
In the 2011 election, council hopeful Corinne Janow finished with 757 votes, behind Maureen Doerr with 890 votes.
Janow said she thought a lot about running again this fall, but decided against it. She was actually waiting to see if anyone dropped out of the race.
“There are too many incumbents, and I think the fight (to win a seat) would be too difficult.”
In 2011, Terry Schafer finished sixth ahead of Tyrone Borba and Ron Ethier. Schafer is seeking the Area C director’s job this fall. Incumbent Allan Patton is not seeking re-election.
Ethier said he’s not considering running for council again.
All of the incumbents on council are seeking re-election, including Mayor Ron Hovanes. No one has come forward yet to challenge Hovanes. Former mayor Pat Hampson said he’s not running.
Lyonel Doherty
Oliver Chronicle
Mayor Ron Hovanes
