Two people are vying for the position of mayor in Morden's December 20th by-election, former city councilor Nancy Penner and Morden resident Nicholas Hoeppner.
At 24, Hoeppner has decided to "go big or go home" and run for top spot on city council.
"The reason I'm doing it is I'd like to get the younger people involved in more, as we don't really have anyone who's been under the age of thirty or thirty-five. I was doing some research, our youngest mayor was thirty-six and that was at the beginning of Morden. I know there are some people who would like to see younger people involved, but I don't know. We'll find out."
Here is another reason.
"One reason I guess, I could say, I'm running is to help the people of Morden to voice their opinions, because I know some people really don't get to say so, or even if they do get a say so, nothing gets heard. It's in one ear, out the other. Sometimes we all do that, though."
Hoeppner has been going door to door on Saturdays to gather community voice.
"One big issue for them was mainly roads, 1st Street especially. Another issue I'm actually surprised about that only a couple of people mentioned was the lagoon, or what we're going to do if we have a mild winter or water shortage. Otherwise, it's mainly bigger grocery stores, like we need more like a Superstore, here, so, we don't have to go drive to Winkler. Another issue was for families who have kids that are in grade one who aren't able to attend daycare anymore. They would like a place for their kids to hang out, so they don't have to worry about them or go find a babysitter."
He explained his strategy.
"I decided my campaign shouldn't be on social media, or anything else, because mainly everyone uses social media, but I thought I'd go with the better approach of (going door to door.) This way, people get to see my face, get to know me, I get to talk to them, see how they're doing, and then meet them, and see the people of Morden, instead of just going on social media and them messaging or commenting, asking me stuff. This way, I'm actually able to ask them in person what their opinions and views are on Morden and what could help."
Candidates confirmed to be running in Morden's by-election are:
Mayoral Candidates:
Nicholas Hoeppner
Nancy Penner
Councilor Candidates:
Chris Abrams
Megan Giesbrecht
Dave Hildebrand
Brenda Klassen
Tracey Krause
Allan Spearman
Darlene Wiebe
An All-Candidates Forum will be held December 4th at the Morden Activity Centre at 7pm.
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