Town elections set for Tuesday

LUNENBURG – Election Day is set for next Tuesday as both towns have several current and new faces running to help lead their local government. Kenbridge and Victoria have numerous town council positions on the ballot for next week and residents at both locations will play a huge role in deciding which ones will make decisions that affect them into the future.

With Election Day set for May 3 and in-person absentee ballots due by April 30 the candidates have just a few more days to garner votes.

For Victoria residents, Mayor Carol Watson will be running unopposed this year. The long time Mayor looks to continue work being done around the town including recent upgrades at the Victoria Railroad Park, to emergency services systems and projects such as Streetscape.

On the town council, there are three seats open this time as Lee Scott will not be running to retain his current seat. Current council members, Sandra  Jones and Ron Mattox will both be seeking to stay in their current positions. These two members have been among the group that has helped get many of the projects in the town underway and will look to continue that into the future.

The new faces running for a seat on the council include Chris Gill, Robert Kassel and Daniel W. Medlin. Gill and Medlin are new to the town council races, while Kassel has run for positions in previous years.

In Kenbridge there will be a race for the position of Mayor. Current Kenbridge Mayor Emory Hodges looks to keep that position and continue on several projects that have begun or are currently being worked on. Hodges has overseen the start of the sewer upgrades around the town and is in the process of Streetscape and Rails to Trails projects around the location that he has been a proponent for.

Sandy is a Kenbridge business owner that has sought political positions in the past, but has launched a formal bid for the position of mayor this year.

The Kenbridge Town Council will see some changes as at least one new face will be stepping in with current member, Tom Palmore not running this year. All six positions will be open for election this year. The list of candidates who have are current members includes, Ken Blackburn, Cathy Gilley, Raymond Hite, Jr., Danny Thompson and recently appointed member Mike Bender. These current members have been part of the above projects being worked on and look to continue that work.

The new candidates for Kenbridge includes Mike McGrath and Aasiz Ibrahim. McGrath is a well known Kenbridge resident who plays a big role in youth and high school sports in Lunenburg while Ibrahim is a business owner in Kenbridge who is looking to fill a role on the council for the first time.

These elections can play a big role in the future of both towns and local residents are encouraged to participate in that future by voting on Tuesday.