By Pam Wright
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Election 2026 is five months off, but there’s no shortage of candidates competing for a seat on Chatham-Kent council.
Two familiar faces have joined the race in the past week – Mark Authier and Rick Nicholls.
Authier, who previously served on council in Ward 1 (South West Kent), will face off against newcomers Michael Bond, Andrea Palmer and Gerhard Taves so far. Two seats are available within the ward.
In Ward 8, (South Chatham), eight people have thrown their hats in the ring, including Nicholls, former Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP. Other candidates include Sandra Dorner, Ryan Drouillard, John Duquette, Andy Fisher, Stephani Shill, Scott Thompson and Luke Van Der Vliet. Two seats are open.
Five candidates have declared in Ward 7 (North East Chatham), including Steve Adkins; Michael Fife; incumbent Amy Finn; Larry Hutchins and Steve Kenney. Two seats are up for grabs in the ward.
In Chatham’s Ward 6 (North West Chatham) three candidates hope to claim a seat. They include incumbent Alysson Storey; Ben Labadie and Sheila Moir-Martin. Two seats are available.
In Wallaceburg, three people have declared their candidacies for two openings, as veteran councillors Carmen McGregor and Aaron Hall are not running. Candidates in this ward include Brendan Authier, Jason Debuck and David Hyatt.
It’s a three-way race for a single seat in Ward 4 (North West Kent) with newcomers John Cummings and Kirk Hooker going up against incumbent Rhonda Jubenville.
Three people are vying for a single seat in Ward 3 (North East Kent) Cory Couture, Emery Huszka and Matthew Pietens have thrown their hats in the ring.
Four new faces have announced they are running for two available seats in Ward 2 (South East Kent). Candidates here include Chad Carnie; Matthew Giffin, Matt Lamarche and Brad Snobelen.
Three people have announced they will seek the mayor’s chair, including Ward 1 Coun. Lauren Anderson; Chatham Coun. Michael Bondy and Wallaceburg area farmer Nelson Burm.
Nominations for the municipal election, to be held Oct. 26 are open until Aug. 21. Anyone interested in running can access all the information on the Municipality of Chatham-Kent’s webpage.
Editor’s note: This is the list of candidates available on the municipality’s webpage as of press time May 15.
