Candidates vying for seats on New Westminster city council and school board have until 4 p.m. today to file their nomination papers.
As of The Record's deadline on Thursday, the following candidates had filed papers or indicated their intention of running in the Nov. 19 municipal election:
? Council: John Ashdown, Jonathan Cote, Cal Donnelly, Bill Harper, Vladimir Krasnogor, Jaimie McEvoy, Betty McIntosh, Paul Mulangu, David Noshad, Bob Osterman, Gavin Palmer, Chuck Puchmayr, Susan Wandell and Lorrie Williams.
? School board: Nikki Binns, Jonina Campbell, Casey Cook,Michael Ewen, Jim Goring, Lisa Graham, James Janzen, Brenda McEachern-Keen, Mary Ann Mortensen and David Phelan.
New Westminster resident James Crosty will be challenging incumbent Wayne Wright for mayor.
The City of New Westminster expects to post the final list of candidates on its website shortly after 4 p.m. today (Friday).
MEETINGS SET
New Westminster voters will get their first chance to hear from candidates vying for city council at an all-candidates meeting being held next week.
The Queensborough Residents' Association will hold an all-candidates meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 7 p.m. at the Queensborugh Community Centre. Candidates running for city council and mayor are invited to attend.
CITIZENSHIP BAN
New Westminster city councillors won't be able to play a role in the upcoming Canadian Citizenship ceremony being held at city hall.
Although city councillors normally have a role at the citizenship ceremony held at city hall, that's not the case this year. The ceremony is taking place at city hall on Saturday, Nov. 5 at 11 a.m.
"Because it is an election year, we can't be part of the ceremony," explained Coun. Bob Osterman. "We can only sit in the audience."
Guidelines for Canadian citizenship ceremonies state that people planning to run an election campaign are not to be invited to ceremonies.
The guidelines also state that federal or municipal incumbents aren't precluded from attending the ceremony if they wish.
"If incumbent members or candidates attend a citizenship ceremony, the clerk must explain that they will not be allowed to speak, will not be introduced and should not introduce themselves as a candidate."
TWEET, TWEET
When New Westminster city councillor Betty McIntosh first ran for city council, social media was virtually nonexistent.
But times have a changed, and McIntosh has done her best to keep up with changing technology.
In preparation for her 2011 election campaign, McIntosh recently asked her webmaster to "freshen up" her website.
McIntosh uses Facebook for friends and family connections, while she uses Twitter (@BettyM13) to make brief announcements to the community.
Incumbent councillor Jonathan Cote is another candidate with a presence on Twitter - he's at @jonathanxcote.
Mayoral candidate James Crosty regularly Tweets at @Crostyca.
School board candidates Jonina Campbell (@joninacampbell) and David Phelan (@david phelan) often comment on Twitter.
Although she has embraced social media, McIntosh still believes that email has the biggest benefit to a city councillor as it allows her to communicate directly with residents.
