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Election 2018: The definitive list of who's running for Prince George City Council

Learn who's who on the campaign trail for the Oct. 20 local election.
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A campaign sign spotted at 15 Ave. and Ospika Boulevard. (via Hanna Petersen).

The Oct. 20. municipal election is fast approaching and it’s time to get familiar with the names that will be appearing on the ballot come election day.

Current Prince George Mayor, Lyn Hall and all but two city councillors are seeking re-election.  That means there will be at least two fresh faces on city council after the election. As October draws closer, it’s time to brush up on who is currently sitting on city council and who is looking to establish themselves into civic government for the first time. 

RELATED: You should read this if you are thinking of running for public office in Prince George

Here’s a list of  what we know so far about who’s running for local government in Prince George:

Mayor:

Mayor Lyn Hall has officially announced his re-election campaign. Hall has been mayor for the last four years when he won the election in 2014. Before that, he served as a city councillor since 2011 but began his political career serving on the school board for School District 57 for ten years including two years as vice-chair and five years as chair. He is currently running uncontested.

IMG_0369Mayor Lyn Hall announced his re-election campaign on the steps of City Hall on Sept. 6 (via Hanna Petersen).

Councillors not seeking re-election:

Jillian Merrick

Merrick was elected to Prince George City Council in November 2014 after a successful first-time political campaign. She is the youngest female council member in the organization's history. She is an experienced economic development practitioner, an avid community volunteer, and an advocate for alternative transportation options

Albert Koehler

Albert Koehler has served three terms as councillor, beginning in 2008. Koehler was born in Germany and emigrated to Canada in 1985. He has a PhD in mechanical engineering and made the move to Prince George in 1985 as well, to open a branch of his consulting engineering company. Koehler is also a director for the Regional District of Fraser Fort George and sits on Omineca Beetle Action Coalition, the Core Review Committee, Downtown Development Committee, and is a member of the Internal Governance Committee.

 

Councillors seeking re-election:

Murry Krause

Murry Krause is seeking his 7th term as a city councillor.  He won his first council election as a city councillor in 1996 where he served until 1999 and then he was elected again in 2002. Krause was the executive director of the Central Interior Native Health Society, a position he held for 22 years until he retired. Before that he was the executive director of Prince George and District United Way for 13 years. He is also the past President of the Union of BC Municipalities.

Brian Skakun

Brian Skakun has served five terms on city council. He has lived in Prince George for over 47years. His community involvement includes being the Alternate Director -Fraser Fort George Regional District, Alternate Director of the Prince George Treaty Advisory Committee, Past President and board member of the local SPCA, Past Chair Intercon and PG Pulp safety Committee, Past Alternate Director Fraser Fort George Regional District, and Seniors advocate.

Garth Frizzell

Garth Frizzell was elected to City Council in 2008 and again in 2011 and 2014. Frizzell has a double major in Computer Science and Asian Studies from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Victoria.Frizzell spent two years in Ottawa working at Statistics Canada, where he was awarded a Gold Medal for employee recognition for his part in work building employee recruitment and retention systems. Frizzell came to Prince George in 1996 to earn his Masters' degree at UNBC in International Studies.  He met his wife Sue, and they have three children. Frizzell and his wife Sue spent 10 years building Terra Cognita Software Systems, a Prince George based multi-award-winning software technology company with a dozen staff. Frizzell currently teaches technology and business courses at the College of New Caledonia.

18056673_1856806581249582_2486421378075413118_nCity of Prince George Councillor Frank Everitt (via Frank Everitt).

Frank Everitt

Frank Everitt has served two terms as a City Councillor. Everitt has lived in Prince George for over 30 years and been active in the community serving on numerous government and private boards. His roles include involvement with the Board of Director for the College of New Caledonia, Board of Director for Spruce Credit Union, Member of the Forestry Roundtable, Trustee for the IWA Pension Plan, Board Member for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in Prince George, Board Member for Employment Action and Trustee for Health and Welfare plans.

Terri McConnachie

Terri McConnachie has lived in Prince George for more than 40 years. She was elected to City Council in 2014 and appointed to the Prince George Public Library Board. She is the former General Manager of the Prince George Exhibition and is the present Executive Officer for the Canadian Homebuilders' Association of Northern BC and a member of the Nechako Rotary Club.

 

Susan Scott

Susan Scott came to Prince George in 1992 to create and establish the bookstore at UNBC. She worked for 22 years in the college and university bookstore system at Vancouver Community College, Langara College and then UNBC. Currently, she works for work for Pacific Western Transportation in the Transit division head office (PWTransit Canada Ltd.) helping the management team to secure work for the transit side of the business.  Her volunteer roles in the community have included the University Hospital of Northern BC where she spent more than 13 years as Assistant Chaplain and the Prince George Rotary Hospice House where she worked as Spiritual Care Advisor and then Volunteer. 

New faces:

Kyle Sampson

Kyle Sampson was the first to announce his campaign for city council. At 25-years-old Sampson is the Northern Sales Rep for Northern BC Pacific Western Brewing and the youngest person running for council. He moved to Prince George in 2002 and has since offered his time to community organizations and not-for-profits as a volunteer, while and was elected to the Board of Directors for the Prince George Chamber of Commerce. Recently he was named Top 40 Under 40 with the Prince George Chamber of Commerce for his successes aand a entrepreneur. In 2016 he received the Community Ambassador Award at the Business Excellence Awards. He is also involved in the local theatre scene most recently performing in Judy Russell’s The Nutcracker in 2017, and Cabaret in 2018. Samson plans to run his campaign on a theme of People, Sustainability, Community, and Development.

40183425_185834798876450_2551889311800754176_nCori Ramsay is running for Prince George City Council in the 2018 local election (via Hanna Petersen).

Cori Ramsay

Cori Ramsay is a UNBC graduate and communications officer for Integris Credit Union. Under her leadership, Integris Credit Union and the City of Quesnel became Living Wage certified, ensuring that over 400 individuals in Northern BC are earning a Living Wage. She is also the Chair of the Board at the Two Rivers Gallery and has volunteered for over five years with them. She also serves on the CFUR board as treasurer. She is also a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors and holds a certificate from the Rotman School of Business in not-for-profit governance essentials. She has been in Marketing/Communications for four years and cooperative banking for over seven years.

Dave Fuller

Dave Fuller is a Certified Professional Business Coach and writer of the book Profit Yourself Healthy.  He has been a business owner for more than 30 years, formerly owning the health foods store Ave Maria, and now works as a business coach. Fuller was president of the People's Action Committee for Healthy Air, which rated candidates position on air quality in the 2008 election. 

The nomination period is not over until Sept. 14, so new faces could be added to list anytime until after that date. 

Anyone who is still considering running for public office, should read this.

To find out more about the local election check out the City of Prince George's election page for more information. 

Did we miss anyone? Let us know! Email news@princegeorgematters.com