Residents in the Rural Municipality of Ritchot are heading to the polls next week for a by-election.

Chris Ewen of Ile des Chenes is one of four candidates running for the position of Mayor. Ewen admits he has no past experience in politics but as a business owner, he says he has what it takes to lead the municipality.

"I believe that to run a government you need to be able to run a proper business, which includes customer service, talk to your constituents, see what's going on," says Ewen.

When he first learned that the former Mayor and two Councillors had stepped down, Ewen says he agreed with them standing up for themselves. But Ewen says he then started to hear the frustration from ratepayers who identified this by-election as a complete waste of money for taxpayers.

"I was frustrated with that too," acknowledges Ewen. "I decided to run because I think we need someone in there that's willing to get in there and do what's right for not only themselves but for the people around the government, the constituents."

Ewen says his campaign is going great and he is being well received throughout the municipality. Having already knocked on more than 1,500 doors, Ewen says he is a big believer in candidates getting their face out there.

As a bilingual candidate, Ewen says the RM of Ritchot does not do enough to support the pride of its French communities. If elected, he would like to bring more culture and tourism to the municipality.

"I think bringing tourism and culture into this area will bring more money for our municipality and our constituents so we don't have to raise these taxes all the time," he says.

Ewen says he is pushing people to vote on July 19th and says he expects a higher voter turnout than in recent elections.

Marianne Curtis is also running for Mayor. A resident of Ile des Chenes, Curtis considers herself a community watchdog. That is because Curtis has worked as a reporter for many years and says it has been a learning experience to now view an election campaign from the other side.

Curtis says she originally heard that only the former Mayor was running for re-election and that would force a win by acclamation.

"I believe in the democratic process and I was very concerned that we would be looking at an acclamation," shares Curtis. "And as a resident who lives in Ile des Chenes and loves this municipality from day one, I've volunteered, tried to help out as much as I can, because I know I could give back."

Similar to Ewen, Curtis says there is a lot of interest in this election.

"Oh yes, everybody's been doing their homework and everybody is paying attention," she says. "I know again a lot of opinions out there talking, a lot of people feel that the previous council should not be on the ballot."

Curtis says the common theme she is hearing from ratepayers is that it is time to elect a government and then to move forward.

"I personally would prefer to just kind of move forward," she says. "This is a learning experience, it was a bad learning experience and we got to get back to business."

Curtis says her message to residents is to get out there and vote.

"Everybody knows that this is a contentious by-election," suggests Curtis. "The issues have been heated, comments have been heated, people are angry, but it's easy to sit there on the streets and complain, you have to come to the polls."

Having said that, she says it is not the best timing for an election. With summer upon us, Curtis says many people are away on holidays.

The other two candidates in the July 19th by-election are Jackie Hunt and Gene Whitney. 

Read More:

Ritchot Mayoral Candidates Part II