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
Meet the candidates: Robert Corkerton, running in Ward 1 (Dorchester)
Robert Corkerton has been serving as a councillor for the Village of Dorchester for going on 16 years now, and is currently Deputy Mayor for the village. Corkerton says he has the experience to help steer Tantramar into the first few years of amalgamation, and that he’s not running on specific issues, but rather on his record as a Village councillor so far. In an interview with CHMA, Corkerton talks about his work on the amalgamation advisory committee, the future of services like fire and police, taxes, and recreation.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Robert Corkerton, which took place November 1, 2022, at CHMA studios:
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: First of all, welcome, Robert, thanks for coming.
Robert Corkerton: Well, thank you for having me here. It’s great to be here.
CHMA: Just to start off, tell me a bit about yourself.
RC: I’m a resident of Dorchester and have been for the past 20 years. I moved to Dorchester from Montreal. I’m originally from England. I live in Dorchester with my wife and I have four kids, three who attend Tantramar at the moment, and one who’s still in Dorchester.
CHMA: And you have some experience on the [Dorchester] Village Council.… Continue
Meet the candidates: Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, running in Ward 1 (Dorchester)
Debbie Wiggins-Colwell was elected mayor of the village of Dorchester last May, and has spent most of her year and a half in municipal politics dealing with an impending amalgamation. Wiggins-Colwell is now running for a seat on a new Tantramar council representing Ward 1 Dorchester. She’s optimistic about the potential for the amalgamation, and stresses her ability to be a voice for people in the Dorchester area.
Listen to CHMA’s Meet The Candidates interview with Debbie Wiggins-Colwell, which took place November 2, 2022, at her home in Dorchester:
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 having us here today, Debbie.
Debbie Wiggins-Colwell: You’re very welcome, Erica.
CHMA: Just to start off, tell us a bit about yourself.
DWC: Well, I’ve been a resident of Dorchester for over 50 years. Of course Dorchester is near and dear to my heart. I brought up three children, one special needs boy who is severely autistic. And Dorchester being a small community, for our family, they really embraced him. And I’m willing to give back now, to my village. They have done so much for myself and my family, that it’s… yeah.
CHMA: All right. And you also you have some experience on Village Council.… 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.
Sackville deputy joins race for mayor of Tantramar; artists plan ‘rituals for belonging’ at community garden
Listen to Tantramar Report for Monday, October 24, 2022:
… Continue
Anti-poverty advocates shine a light on homelessness, lack of services in rural areas
On Monday, the New Brunswick Common Front for Social Justice organized a march through downtown Moncton to renew their commitment to the fight against poverty and show solidarity with the poor.
The event took place in an urban setting, but conditions of poverty also exist in rural and semi-rural areas like Tantramar.
“I live in a rural area,” said Janelle LeBlanc, provincial coordinator of the NB Common Front. “I’ve seen, in the communities around where I live, unhoused people on the street.”
It’s a phenomenon she never witnessed growing up. And it has happened in tandem with massive increases in rent that have affected tenants in cities and the countryside.
Earlier this year, the provincial government implemented a temporary rent cap that expires on Dec. 31, 2022.
Listen to the interview with Janelle LeBlanc, provincial coordinator of the NB Common Front:
Event organizers estimated that about 75 people showed up for the march from Riverfront Park to Saint George’s Anglican Church, which offers social services to homeless people in downtown Moncton.
The event featured testimonies from people that have struggled with poverty, including a young woman with autism who experienced homelessness.
‘Be part of this historic initiative’: Allain tries to drum up more candidates for municipal elections
There is just one week to go for candidates to nominate themselves for municipal elections in New Brunswick, and so far there are just eight candidates registered with Elections NB for the new town of Tantramar.
Tantramar Candidates according to Elections NB unofficial list
Mayor
Shawn Mesheau
Ward 1 (Dorchester) – One councillor seat available
Debbie Wiggins-Colwell
Robert Corkerton
Ward 2 (West Sackville/Rockport) – One councillor seat available
None
Ward 3 (Sackville) – Four councillor seats available
Mike Tower
Josh Goguen
Allison Butcher
Ward 4 (Upper Sackville/Midgic) – One councillor seat available
Matt Estabrooks
Ward 5 (Point de Bute/Aulac) – One councillor seat available
Greg Martin
Current Sackville councillor Sabine Dietz says she will be running in Ward 4 (Upper Sackville/Midgic) though she has yet to register.
Two current Sackville councillors have informed CHMA they will not be running: Bill Evans and Ken Hicks. Others are expected to declare candidacy soon, including Andrew Black and Bruce Phinney.
Counting Dietz as a candidate, there are just two actual elections guaranteed to take place in Tantramar, with no contest so far for Mayor, councillors in Ward 3 (Sackville), and councillor in Ward 5 (Point de Bute). There are no candidates whatsoever for councillor in Ward 2 (West Sackville).
There are also no candidates for the elected advisory committee for the new Southeast Rural District which is spread over eight distinct areas of the region, from north of Midgic to the Canaan Bog to the edges of Fundy National Park.… Continue
Tantramar to pony up about $60k of starter $1.5 million budget for new mandated regional services
Economic development is the biggest ticket item in the list of new mandated services to be delivered by regional service commissions in New Brunswick, at least in the southeast of the province.
As part of Minister Daniel Allain’s local government reform plan, commissions such as the South East Regional Service Commission (SERSC) will expand the number of services they provide, for which municipalities like the new town of Tantramar are required to pay.
Currently, the SERSC operates Eco360 and Plan360, handling garbage disposal and planning services for the municipalities in the region. But as of 2023, the commission will expand to include regional economic development, social and community development, regional transportation, tourism, and regional recreation infrastructure.
Earlier this month, chief financial officer Stephanie Thorne presented the commission’s draft budget for 2023, including an additional 1.5$ million ‘starter’ allocation for the new mandated services. The town of Tantramar portion of those costs will be about $59,000 in 2023, but that cost is expected to grow considerably in future, once the new services are defined and start to be delivered.
“It’s a prudent budget, we didn’t want to jump all in on the new mandated services,” Thorne told Sackville town council. “We really want to take this year to build strategies and figure out where the gaps are that we can fill.”… Continue
Rally shows ‘solidarity and compassion’ amid housing crisis, inflation; province announces $100M for public housing
Listen to Tantramar Report for Tuesday, October 18, 2022: