Lack of candidates could lead to council by acclamation
Nomination Day for the upcoming municipal elections is just around the corner.
Forms to run in the election are due on Monday, September 23, between 10 a.m. and noon at Town Hall, which is now located in the old Civic Centre building on Centre Street.
As of today (Friday, September 20), only two residents, former mayor Bryce Nimmo and Kalon Sykes, have declared their intention to run as Town councillors in Drumheller. So far, no mayoral candidates have come forward.
All but two of the incumbent members of the current Town Council have pledged to run for re-election. Mayor Terry Yemen and Councillors Jay Garbutt, Lisa Hansen-Zacharuk, Sharel Shoff, and Tom Zariski have announced they will seek re-election. Councillors Andrew Berdahl and Doug Stanford are stepping down. 
Should no other candidates come forward, the entirety of Town Council could be decided by acclamation, rather than a democratic vote.
Previously, the last time a Drumheller mayor and councillors won their seats by acclamation was in 2004 when Paul Ainscough was declared mayor and Sharel Shoff and Karen McKinnon were named councillors for west Drumheller.
In 1998, Layton Thomas and Harry Stables won council seats through acclamation.
Within the past 30 years, the closest the Drumheller Valley councils came to being decided entirely by acclamation was in 1995 and 1992, when the Badlands Municipal District council seats were determined without an election.
Nomination forms for the 2013 election can be picked up from Town Hall.
