KAMSACK — In addition to the terms having expired in November of three councillors and the reeve at the RM of Cote, a death and a resignation necessitated two byelections, which resulted in six of the seven council seats needing voters’ consent.
Only Councillor Murray Horkoff of Div. 6, who had been re-elected to a four-year term two years ago, returned to the council chambers without having to get voter approval. He, along with the newly-elected councillors of Div. 2 and Div. 4, will need voters’ support if they choose to remain on council following the municipal election in two years.
Horkoff has held his seat on council since 2011.
The two byelections were held in conjunction with the general municipal election because of the death of Dale Schwartz, who had served as the Div. 4 councillor since 1979, and because Vern Bowes, who had served as the Div. 2 councillor since 2001, resigned in July.
In the byelections, Dale Schwartz’s son Chris was elected unopposed as the Div. 4 councillor, and Dale Nelson was elected as the Div. 2 councillor.
Their terms of office, as well as Horkoff’s, expire after voters in even-numbered divisions of the province’s rural municipalities go to the polls on Nov. 9, 2026.
Ralph Hilderman, who was elected reeve, returns to council after having been the Div. 1 councillor from 2005 to 2020 when he lost re-election to Amanda Burback, who was re-elected in November for a four-year term.
Also new on council are first-timers Tanner Chutskoff of Div. 5 and Murry Hunter of Div. 3.
Not including the reeve’s previous experience as a councillor, only Burback and Horkoff were returned to council with experience serving in municipal government.
The two meetings held to date have been a learning experience for the majority of council, said Sherry Guenther, who has worked as the administrator since 2014.
Council continues to hold its regular meetings, beginning at 9 a.m., on the second Wednesday of each month at the RM office in Kamsack.
