The next reign of local leaders are expected to be named Saturday night, as the Agassiz-Harrison 2022 municipal election gets underway.
District of Kent residents will choose between five candidates for district council, while Harrison will choose their mayor and council.All District Council incumbents are running for re-election plus newcomer Verna Dandenault. District Mayor Sylvia Pranger – for the second consecutive term – is unopposed and re-elected by acclamation.
Meanwhile, in Harrison Hot Springs, there could be some seat-shuffling among incumbents with Coun. Samantha Piper running for mayor and Mayor Leo Facio making a council bid; with Couns. Ray Hooper and Gerry Palmer not running and a total of three candidates for mayor, there’s room for new blood in the village’s municipal offices.
There are three seats up for grabs between five candidates for Agassiz-Harrison’s representatives on the Fraser-Cascade school board. Trustee Ron Johnstone is not seeking re-election while his fellow incumbents Marilyn Warren and Wendy Coleman-Lawley are.
Polls are open in Agassiz and Harrison Hot Springs from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Where you can vote:
Agassiz Agricultural Hall
6800 Pioneer Avenue
Harrison Hot Springs Elementary School
501 Hot Springs Road
Who you can vote for:
District of Kent Council (four to be elected):
Verna Dandenault
Duane Post (incumbent)
Kerstin Schwichtenberg (incumbent)
Susan Spaeti (incumbent)
Stan S Watchorn (incumbent)
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Fraser Valley Regional District, Electoral Area C (one to be elected):
Mike Armstrong
Wendy Bales (incumbent)
Mel Waardenburg
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Fraser-Cascade School District 78, Agassiz-Harrison Trustees (three to be elected):
Wendy Clark
Wendy Coleman-Lawley (incumbent)
Andrea Hensen
Marilyn Warren (incumbent)
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Harrison Hot Springs Mayor:
John Allen
Samantha Piper (incumbent, village council)
Ed Wood
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Harrison Hot Springs Council:
John Buckley
Leo Facio (incumbent, Mayor)
Leslie Ghezesan
Allan Jackson
Michie Vidal
Relevant stories:
District of Kent all-candidates meeting
Fraser Valley Regional District, Electoral Area C Q&A
Harrison Hot Springs all-candidates meeting
Harrison Hot Springs Mayor and Council Q&A
School District 78 all-candidates meeting
Print versions of all articles are available in the Oct. 7 and Oct. 14 editions of The Observer.
For Elections FAQ page for questions like what kind of identification to bring, click here for the District of Kent and here for the Village of Harrison Hot Springs.
What happens once polls close?
After 8 p.m. local time, election officials will begin counting and tallying the ballots. Throughout the day, you can find us posting brief, live updates via our Facebook page (linked here). As the results come in, we will periodically update polling numbers on our website.
Check out our website and Facebook page for full coverage of the results once polls close.