The nomination period for the 2026 municipal elections opened today (Sept. 1), but so far few people have even publicly declared their intention to run for local office.

The big news in the spring was Mayor Gladys Atrill signalling her intention not to seek re-election. Atrill has served on Smithers council since 2014 and has been mayor since 2019 when she stepped into the acting role after Taylor Bachrach vacated the office to run in the federal election. She defeated Joe Bramsleven in a 2020 byelection and was re-elected in 2022.

“I just came to the conclusion that this is the right time for me to step away,” she said. “I’ve been on council now for 12 years, and it’s been incredible in so many ways, but I have to consider four more years, and I just decided that this is the time for me to kind of step away and create space for someone else to take on the goal.”

Shortly after Atrill made her announcement, two-term veteran councillor John Buikema, announced he would step up as a mayoral candidate.

Buikema is counting on his experience as a councillor to give him an edge in the mayor’s race.

“It would be incredibly difficult for someone who has never been a town councillor to fill the mayor’s seat,” he said. “There would not be a familiarity with the issues facing the town, and there would not be established relationships with town staff that happen when someone is already a town councillor.”

Of the remaining current councillors only Sam Raven and Calvin Elliott have declared they will run again.

Raven made her intention known in a Facebook post following Buikema’s announcement saying it has been “an incredible term and I am so very happy that John Buikema is putting his name forward for mayor.”

On Aug. 24, Elliott became only the second person to express an intention to run and is standing on his voting record to get him re-elected.

“I want the people of Smithers to know that I am a dedicated and involved member of this community,” he wrote on Facebook. “The issues that impact you, impact me as well, and I hope to continue to be a voice for all of us in addressing these issues in the upcoming four years.”

The Interior News has yet to hear of any other prospective candidates either from council or the general public, but has reached out to current councillors Laura Leonard, Genevieve Paterson, and Frank Wray to gauge their intentions.

In Smithers, there are six councillor positions and one mayor’s position up for grabs. The nomination period closes Sept. 11.

General voting day is Oct. 17.