Waterloo Region Votes 2018: The race is on, but some people have already won

The race is officially on.

Candidates running in the Oct. 22 municipal election have started their campaigns after the deadline to file paperwork passed Friday afternoon.

Seven people won't need to put up signs and knock on doors though, as they were acclaimed to their positions because no one ran against them. All the acclamations happened in the townships.

Woolwich Mayor Sandy Shantz will continue on with her role after being acclaimed. In her role as mayor of Woolwich, Shantz will also sit on regional council.

The following councillors were also acclaimed:

• Rodney Rollerman, Ward 1, North Dumfries.
• Shelley Wagner, Ward 1, Wellesley.
• Carl Smit, Ward 4, Wellesley.
• Cheryl Gordijk, Ward 2, Wilmot.
• Murray Martin, Ward 3, Woolwich.
• Larry Shantz, Ward 3, Woolwich.

Shantz 'really honoured' to continue role

Shantz said she was "very excited and really honoured" she will get to continue her role as Woolwich's mayor.

"It's a vote of confidence, as far as I'm concerned, that no one has chosen to run against me and I'm very excited to be able to keep serving the community," Shantz said Monday.

She said many of the issues she sees Woolwich facing in the coming year is improving traffic congestion between Elmira and Waterloo, which the region has said it will look at in 2019.

"So I want to make sure that carries on," she said.

Busing and public transportation in Elmira is also a priority, she said, including doing an "around the town" route, as is a bypass around Elmira.

But another issue important to Shantz is the ongoing opioid crisis. She said it "doesn't directly affect Woolwich" at this time, but it's a concern for the whole region. 

"It really does affect all of us and even though it looks as though it's not a big problem in Woolwich, I do know that Woolwich people end up in Kitchener and Waterloo and it is a regional issue," she said.

Races for regional chair, mayors

There's a race for every seat in the three cities and at the regional level.

Four people are seeking the regional chair position: Jay Aissa, Jan d'Ailly, Karen Redman and Rob Deutschmann.

In Cambridge, Mayor Doug Craig is being challenged by four other people: Randy Carter, Kathryn McGarry, Colin Tucker and Ben Tucci.

Kitchener Mayor Berry Vrbanovic is seeing competition from three people: Narine Dat Sookram, Jiri Marek and Myron Daniel Steinman.

In Waterloo, three people are running for mayor, including incumbent Dave Jaworsky, Chris Kolednik and Kelly Steiss.

In the townships, North Dumfries Mayor Sue Foxton is facing off against Martin Harrison for the job; Wellesley Mayor Joe Nowak is being challenged by Bernia Wheaton; and Wilmot Mayor Les Armstrong is vying for the job along with John Jordan.

• Waterloo Region Votes 2018 | See the whole list of candidates