Meet the candidates: Andrew Black, running for mayor of Tantramar
Andrew Black was just elected for a second term on Sackville town council when the province decided to amalgamate surrounding areas and create a new town of Tantramar. After serving the past year as Deputy Mayor and taking an active role in the Union of New Brunswick Municipalities (Black was elected president of the organization last month), he decided to run for mayor of the amalgamated municipality. Black says the coming year in municipal government will be a tough one, dealing with unknowns and a new council composition.
CHMA’s David Gordon Koch has interviewed all three mayoral candidates for Tantramar. Listen to his interview with Andrew Black here:
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT:
CHMA: So thanks for taking the time today, Andrew Black. Could you start by telling me a bit about yourself and how long you’ve been involved with council?
Andrew Black: Well, I’m 47 years old. I was born in Amherst, Nova Scotia. And I think it was five months old when my parents moved out west., I lived in Calgary until I was about 10 years old and moved back to the Maritimes, to Sackville, in 1985. So I’ve lived here most of my life. Graduated from Tantramar High School, graduated from Mount Allison University and my parents are both from the area.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Shawn Mesheau, running for mayor of Tantramar
Shawn Mesheau has a long career on Sackville town council, first elected to council in 1998 and serving off and on for nearly 12 years, most recently as the mayor of Sackville, elected just 18 months ago in May 2021. Mesheau is running for mayor of Tantramar in part as a continuation of the commitment he made as mayor of Sackville, and also because he believes the coming years will involve difficult decisions for the new council which he says will require strong leadership.
CHMA’s David Gordon Koch has interviewed all three mayoral candidates for Tantramar. Listen to his interview with Shawn Mesheau here:
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT:
CHMA: I’m speaking to Shawn Mesheau, currently the mayor of Sackville. He’s running for the position of first mayor of the new town of Tantramar. Mayor Mesheau, before you became mayor of Sackville, you served for a number of years as town councillor. For listeners who might not be familiar, can you introduce yourself and include any previous involvement on council?
Shawn Mesheau: Sure. Well, I was born and raised here in Sackville. After college, I spent about five, six years in the Fredericton area, came back to Sackville, transferred here through Atlantic Wholesalers, and worked with Atlantic Wholesalers for several years, until they left town.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Bonnie Swift, running for mayor of Tantramar
Bonnie Swift is an environmental engineer who worked for years in Alberta, moving east to Sackville in 2010 and serving as the town of Sackville business development officer for two years. Swift describes herself as a “small town girl” from Dorchester, and says she’s running for mayor of the new municipality of Tantramar after encouragement from friends. Swift became active in Sackville politics this past year, advocating for reconsideration and public consultation of a zoning change that made way for the AIL pipe plant now under construction on Walker Road.
CHMA’s David Gordon Koch has interviewed all three mayoral candidates for Tantramar. Listen to his interview with Bonnie Swift here:
CHMA is compiling all its election coverage in one place, for your convenience. For more candidate interviews and other local elections coverage, click here.
TRANSCRIPT:
CHMA: I’m speaking with Bonnie Swift. She’s one of three candidates in the race for mayor, the first-ever mayor of the new town of Tantramar. Bonnie, thanks for speaking to CHMA today.
Bonnie Swift: Thank you. You’re welcome. Glad to do it.
CHMA: First of all, can you tell me a little bit about yourself? This is your first run for a municipal council seat, isn’t it?
Bonnie Swift: Yeah, well, as far as I go, I’m a small town girl. I grew up in Dorchester. I went to high school in Sackville.… Continue
These are your candidates for the first Tantramar mayor and council
Nominations have closed on the first elections for a new town of Tantramar mayor and council.
There are five contests for Tantramar elections, and one ward with no contest. The candidates are as follows:
Mayor, Tantramar
- Andrew Black (incumbent Sackville deputy mayor)
- Shawn Mesheau (incumbent Sackville mayor)
- Bonnie Swift
Ward 1, Dorchester (one seat)
- Debbie Wiggins-Colwell (incumbent Dorchester mayor)
- Robert Corkerton (incumbent Dorchester deputy mayor)
Ward 2, West Sackville-Rockport (one seat)
- Natalie Donaher
- Barry Hicks
- Wendy Epworth
- Kevin J. Scott
Ward 3, Sackville (four seats)
- Allison Butcher (incumbent Sackville councillor)
- Alice Cotton
- Joshua Goguen
- Virgil Hammock
- Charles Arden Harvey
- Sana Mohamad
- Sahitya Pendurthi
- Mike Tower (incumbent Sackville councillor)
- Bruce Phinney (incumbent Sackville councillor)
Ward 4, Upper Sackville-Midgic (one seat)
- Sabine Dietz (incumbent Sackville councillor)
- Matt Estabrooks (incumbent Sackville councillor)
Ward 5, Point de Bute (one seat)
- Greg Martin (incumbent on advisory committee for Point de Bute Local Service District)
There are a total of 21 candidates for all positions, including nine women and twelve men. Ten of the candidates are incumbents, already holding seats on council or local service district advisory committees.
CHMA hopes to bring you interviews with all candidates, as well as coverage of the All-Candidates’ Forum being held at the Middle Sackville Baptist Church on November 12, 7pm-9pm.… Continue
UPDATED: More candidates, just one ward with no contest unless more candidates come forward by Friday deadline
Updated at 10am Wednesday, October 26, 2022 to reflect new candidates
New candidates have put their names forward for Tantramar municipal elections to be held on November 28, 2022. Nominations close on Friday at 2pm.
Barry Hicks and Wendy Epworth have both declared their candidacy for Ward 2, which includes parts of the old town of Sackville such as Frosty Hollow, as well as Westcock, British Settlement and the Rockport peninsula.
Incumbent Sackville councillor Bruce Phinney has also put his name in the hat for central Sackville, Ward 3. And on Tuesday, a new candidate, Charles Arden Harvey, entered the race in Ward 3, central Sackville.
That means the four seats in Ward 3 will be up for competition between at least five candidates.
Ward 5 Point de Bute is the one remaining ward with no contest. Candidate Greg Martin is in line to win the council seat by acclamation unless other candidates come forward before this Friday at 2pm.
So far, there are five contests for Tantramar elections:
- Mayor, Tantramar: Current Sackville mayor Shawn Mesheau and Deputy Mayor Andrew Black compete for the top job.
- Ward 1, Dorchester: Current Dorchester mayor Debbie Wiggins Colwell is running against her deputy mayor Robert Corkerton.