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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Thursday, March 3, 2016 | 6 Ward 2 by-election April 11 has 11 contenders by David Lea Oakville Beaver Staff Spotlight "Connected to your Community" With the nominations closed for the Ward 2 by-election, residents have 11 candidates from whom to choose. There has been considerable public interest in who will serve as Oakville's next Ward 2 councillor with six candidates entering the race the rst day nominations could be led on Jan. 12. These candidates included Visit Oakville chair Ray Chisholm, former Oakville United Way GenNext Committee co-chair Fraser Damoff, pastpresident of the West Harbour Residents Association Hart Jansson, retired teacher Ruth Anne McAuley , community volunteer Cheryle McCullagh and entrepreneur Sean Neville. Local businessman John Pilcher and community activist Chris Kowalchuk joined the race just days later while digital strategist Dirk Soeterik threw his hat into the ring Jan. 20. Community volunteer and mother of three Shiba Anjum joined the competition on Feb. 17 with former Miss Mississauga-turned-paralegal Julie McLeod ling her nomination papers just two days before nominations closed on Feb. 24. The Ward 2 council seat has been vacant since former councillor Pam Damoff was elected MP of the new Oakville North-Burlington riding in last fall's federal election. Council has voted to ll the position through a by-election, which will take place April 11. Eligible voters unable to vote on April 11 are encouraged to cast their ballot at one of the advance voting opportunities. Advance voting will take place Wednesday, March 30 from 10 a.m.8 p.m. and Saturday, April 2 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Sir John Colborne Seniors Centre, 1565 Old Lakeshore Rd., W., and at the Oakville Seniors Recreation Centre, 263 Kerr St. For more information about the byelection or the candidates, or to nd out if your name is on the voters list, visit elections.oakville.ca or call 905815-6015. Here are the candidates at a glance. For more details about each and why they are running, visit www.insidehalton. com/oakville-on. Shiba Anjum Community volunteer and mother of three Ray Chisholm Former Town employee who has lived in Ward 2 more than 40 years Fraser Damoff Energy project nancing specialist Hart Jansson Business executive, long-time resident who has experience on local residents association and Town groups Chris Kowalchuk Community activist with experience on residents association and a 30-year resident of Ward 2 Ruth Anne McAuley Retired teacher and long-time Oakville resident Cheryle McCullagh Long-time resident of Oakville, law clerk, community volunteer, experience with residents' association Julie McLeod Long-time Oakville resident calls Ward 5 home but frequents Ward 2 often. Former Miss Mississauga, community volunteer, law clerk Sean Neville Ward 2 business owner, long-time resident, entrepreneur John Pilcher Long-time resident, businessman, small business owner, coach Dirk Soeterik Digital strategist, ward resident, community volunteer Volume 54 | Number 18 5046 Mainway, Unit 2, Burlington (905) 845-3824 Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. NEIL OLIVER Vice­President and Group Publisher KELLY MONTAGUE Regional General Manager DANIEL BAIRD Director of Advertising ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Editorial Department (905) 845-3824 Advertising Department (905) 845-3824 Classi ed Advertising (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095