Pembina Hills trustees passed a motion during their Jan. 13 meeting to begin running newspaper advertisements informing residents that they may now put their names forward as candidates in the 2021 election.
In an e-mail, board chair Jennifer Tuininga confirmed that the newspaper advertisements will run twice each month until September.
At that point, there will be ads appearing in the newspaper during the two consecutive weeks prior to nomination day on Sept. 20.
This was in line with a recommendation made by secretary-treasurer Tracy Leigh, who is also acting as a returning officer for the 2021 election.
Leigh said the cost of running a bi-monthly newspaper advertisement that is equivalent to 1/8 of a page would be $3,000 over the course of the campaign.
She also noted that additional notice can be given through other means, such as the Pembina Hills website or social media.
To this end, Tuininga said the board also discussed pushing the information out on social media in the weeks there is no ad appearing in the newspaper, and “perhaps having a couple of different ads … to capture the public’s attention.”
Incidentally, anyone is eligible to be nominated as a candidate for the board of trustees if they are also eligible to vote in the 2021 election, have been a resident of the local jurisdiction for at least six months immediately preceding nomination day, are not employed by a school district/division or a charter/private school, and are otherwise not disqualified from running by other circumstances..
Pembina Hills has traditionally run their election alongside the municipal elections that occur every four years.
It’s worth noting that the 2021 election will be different than years past because the school division’s electoral boundaries have been revised and the number of seats on the board has been lowered from seven to six.
Trustees will now be elected in the following wards: Pembina Hills West — Ward 1 (Neerlandia and Dunstable), Pembina Hills West — Ward 2 (Swan Hills and Fort Assiniboine), Pembina Hills West — Ward 3 (Barrhead), Pembina Hills East — Ward 1 (Busby and Clyde), Pembina Hills East — Ward 2 (Dapp, Jarvie, Fawcett) and the two Hutterite colonies) and Pembina Hills East — Ward 3 (Westlock).
