KENSINGTON – Seven candidates are vying for Kensington’s six town council seats on Monday.Sixty-nine municipalities across the province are either holding public votes or special nomination meetings on Nov. 5. Polls are open in Kensington from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Town Hall.
Mayor Gordon Coffin was unopposed by the deadline to declare candidacy and was automatically acclaimed to the position, but there will be some changes around the council table.
Current deputy mayor, Paul Chessman, is not re-offering. Two new candidates, Ken Simmonds and Rodney Mann, have also stepped forward to challenge incumbents Rowan Caseley, Mack MacLean, Marvin Mill, Jeff Spencer and Gary Gallant.
Gallant, the general manager of the Kensington Club, has been the only candidate so far to campaign through the media.
“Over the last five and a half years, I have worked very hard and am very proud of the accomplishments mayor and council have achieved. I believe that today Kensington is definitely a better place to work, live and play because of it,” Gallant said in a news release.
Those elected Nov. 5 will serve abbreviated two-year terms in office to bring smaller municipalities in line with Summerside, Charlottetown, Stratford, and Cornwall, which hold elections for four-year terms in 2014.
While the shortened term didn’t attract many candidates in Kensington, it seems to have drummed up interest in other communities like Borden-Carleton. Three candidates are vying for mayor in that town, and 11 candidates are in the running for six council spots.
Elections P.E.I. and the Department of Municipal Affairs will post results on their websites as they’re tabulated Monday night.
Community residents are eligible to vote so long as they’re 18 years old, a Canadian citizen and a resident of the municipality for thepast six months.
Visit municipalelectionspei.ca for more information on the voting process.
sbrun@journalpioneer.com
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