The first election candidate has stepped forward in Ward Six, or the Grunthal area, of the Rural Municipality of Hanover. Current Councillor Jim Funk has already announced he is running for the position of reeve, leaving that councillor seat up for grabs.

Curtis Dawydiuk says there are a few reasons why he is running for that seat. First of all, he says it is his belief that we should serve our communities. Dawydiuk, who has volunteered his time over the years with organizations like the Hanover Ag Society and Grunthal Recreation Association, says a move to Hanover Council would be the next step to helping facilitate change.

Dawydiuk also ran in the 2018 election. However, four years ago he was eyeing the Ward Four seat. He says his platform is very similar this time around as he campaigns on community progress and growth, including infrastructure renewal and regional partnerships.

"Regional partnership I think is huge," notes Dawydiuk. "I think the only way to have an effective plan is when multiple municipalities are working together."

Dawydiuk says running in the last election was a great experience. He fell short but notes there were six candidates. 

"It was a learning experience," he admits. "I'm still fairly young and it was good. But this time around I guess having that first year experience, I know changes I would make that I learned from the last round."

Dawydiuk says at first he was on the fence, not knowing if he should try again. However, he says he felt a lot of support from family and friends to run for the post and decided to give it a shot.