Both councillors Danielle Eaton and Wes Graham announced their intentions to seek another term on council during a meeting on Monday night at city hall.
Both councillors join Mayor Lee Pratt who had previously announced his intention to seek another term during an earlier meeting in June.
Eaton and Graham are serving their first terms on Cranbrook city council.
Eaton said she balanced her family and personal life while considering whether to run again, but concluded that she still wanted to be involved in shaping the future of the city.
“This term has been great, working with the team we have,” said Eaton. “I feel that we’ve accomplished a lot and learned a lot and I think it’d be a shame — I think we’ve finally have our feet under us and a lot of momentum and so when I think about ending my term, it was quite a decision making process but I have decided to run for reelection.”
Eaton currently serves on the city’s Heritage Committee, the Ktunaxa Kinbasket Treaty Advisory Committee and also holds the role of alternate director for the Regional District of East Kootenay and Kootenay East Regional Hospital District Board.
Eaton cites the decision leading to the planning and rehabilitation of Idlewild Park as one of the accomplishments she is most proud of over the last few years.
Going forward, Eaton hopes to continue advocating for development if she succeeds in winning a second term. She referenced council’s decision on Monday night to approve the rezoning of land in Slaterville to allow for an apartment building.
“We want to continue developing industry but also matching the housing,” said Eaton. “We saw tonight that we definitely are in a housing crisis, so I think there’s going to be a lot more strategy in terms of development and housing.”
Graham also announced his intention to seek a second term at the council table during the end of the meeting, joking that he is going to use the time between now and the municipal elections to update his resume.
“We have a good team,” said Graham. “We’ve done a lot of work; it’s just been head down, moving forward and trying to get the city rocking and rolling and really being the hub of the Kootenays. It’s been hard work, but very rewarding.”
Graham currently serves on the Advisory Planning Commission, the Urban Deer Management Advisory Committee, and is one of the municipal directors with the Regional District of East Kootenay and Kootenay East Regional Hospital District Board.
Graham came into council as the most experienced candidate, given his nine years and three terms of service with Creston council.
“Because all of council was new, it was great to provide a bit of insight into policy and into the Local Government Act and have the connections that we have in government on both sides of the fence,” said Graham.
Like Eaton, Graham cited the work at Idlewild Park as one of the accomplishments he takes pride in.
“Idlewild is a big one, for myself, and that dam, dealing with that,” Graham said. “As well as our roads. The roads were something that everybody talked about forever and finally being able to act on that and put some money into that was great.”
Going forward, Graham wants to focus his attention on the revitalization of Joseph Creek, which is starting to gather steam off the efforts of the Columbia Outdoor School.
Graham also notes the challenges ahead, such as rising infrastructure costs and ensuring prudent fiscal responsibility with taxpayer dollars by balancing the provision of services in a way that doesn’t break the public bank.
British Columbians will go to the polls on Oct. 20 to choose their local municipal representatives.
The window for candidate nominations is between Sept. 4-14, while local election campaigns officially kick off on Sept. 22.