Municipal election race gets first contenders

By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express

The municipal election race has seen its first batch of contenders come forward vying to represent Oshawa at city hall and the regional council chambers.

The municipal election, which will see Oshawa voters take to the polls on Oct. 22, will also mark the first time citizens will be electing regional and city councillors with Oshawa’s newly created five-ward system.

While no contenders have come forward for the mayor’s race, here’s a look at who has filed their nomination papers so far.

 

Ward 1

The city’s northern ward, it encompasses the majority of the city’s rural lands in the north, meeting Ward 2 at Highway 407. It also dips south on the east side of Oshawa, encompassing the area between Ritson Road and the city boundary with Clarington all the way to Taunton Road in the south.

A lone candidate has come forward in Ward 1 looking to take one of Oshawa’s five city councillor seats.

Theresa Corless, a trustee with the Durham Catholic District School Board is looking to make the jump to the council chambers.

A long-time resident of the City of Oshawa, Corless was elected as a trustee for the Durham Catholic District School in 2010. She was re-elected to the role in 2014 with 3,182 votes.

 

Ward 2

One of the city’s three central wards, Ward 2 is confined by the city’s boundary with Whitby to the west, and Ritson Road to the east. It stretches north and south between Highway 407 in the north and Rossland Road to the south.  

Ward 2 is another ward that has seen a lone candidate come forward as current councillor Gail Bates has filed her papers to retain her seat as one of Oshawa’s city councillors. Bates was appointed to her role in 2017 following the passing of Nancy Diamond.

 

Ward 3

Encompassing the city’s central-east side, Ward 3 is bound by Taunton Road to the north and Olive Avenue to the south, the city’s boundary with Clarington to the east, and Ritson Road and Wilson Road to the west.  

Currently one of the city’s first contested wards sees newcomer Teresa Aker, the wife of longtime current councillor John Aker (who has already made public that he will not be seeking reelection), going up against current city councillor John Shields who is looking to gain a seat as a city and regional councillor. The position would be a bump up from Shields’ current role as a city councillor.

The ward also has a trio of newcomer candidates who have come forward to vie for the spot of city councillor, including Ethan Eastwood, Bradley J. Marks and Cerise Wilson.

 

Ward 4

Ward 4 encompasses the majority of the city’s downtown core and is bound by Rossland Road in the north, Olive Avenue and Gibb Street to the south, the city’s western boundary with Whitby to the west and Wilson Road to the east.

The city’s downtown core is sure to be one of  the more highly contested wards come voting day. Currently, only one name, a common one for many in the downtown area, has come forward to run for the regional and city councillor seat, that being Councillor Doug Sanders.

Sanders, a councillor since he was appointed in 2011 following a council vacancy, was reelected to the city councillor position in 2014, earning the most votes with 8,751. Following the passing of Diamond in 2017, Sanders was appointed to fill her regional and city councillor seat.

A familiar name has also come forward to vie for the city councillor seat as community advocate Derek Giberson has filed his nomination papers for Ward 4. Giberson also ran in the 2014 election, losing out on a city councillor position with 3,310 votes.

 

Ward 5

The city’s south ward encompasses Oshawa’s entire southern portion, including everything south of Olive Avenue and Gibb Street stretching all the way down to Lake Ontario.

While the ward remains quiet at present, Ward 5 is sure to be another ward that will be highly contested as the October election approaches.

As it stands, current councillor Nester Pidwerbecki remains the lone candidate to put his name forward to represent the ward as a regional and city councillor.

These results are current as of May 16.