Ward 5 councillor Oshry won’t seek re-election
Businessman served one term after winning West Edmonton race in 2013
Ward 5 Coun. Michael Oshry announced on social media Wednesday he will not run for another term on city council.
The local businessman, who has served one term in office, won a tight race in the 2013 civic election, where nine candidates were vying for the West Edmonton council seat left open by mayoral hopeful Karen Leibovici.
Oshry won by 628 votes, earning 5,433 votes to closest competitor Jim Gibbon’s 4,805 votes.
Since the election, Oshry has represented the city on a number of committees and boards including Northlands and the Edmonton Police Commission.
In March 2015, Oshry spearheaded the removal of the City of Champions slogan from six of seven large wooden highway entrance signs.
On Tuesday, Coun. Tony Caterina called for a reinstatement of the phrase, saying he’s received about a dozen calls from people in the last two weeks who want to bring the slogan back.
In March, six-term councillor Bryan Anderson announced he will not run for city council again, leaving the race open in the Terwillegar-Riverbend area. Anderson has represented what is now called Ward 9 since 1998.
In April, Ward 4 Coun. Ed Gibbons announced he will not stand for re-election. He was first elected to city council in 2001.
The 2017 election is scheduled for Oct. 16.
Nomination day is Sept. 18.