Running again
Incumbent mayor, councillors to seek reelection
There will be some familiar names on the ballot when Prince George voters go to the polls on Oct. 20 to elect a new mayor and city council.
Mayor Lyn Hall and current city councillors Frank Everitt, Albert Koehler, Murry Krause, Terri McConnachie, Susan Scott and Brain Skakun confirmed they intend to seek reelection in the fall when contacted by The Citizen. Coun. Garth Frizzell had not replied as of press time and Coun. Jillian Merrick said she is still undecided if she will run again.
“I would love to run again but there are a few professional and personal roadblocks that would currently prevent me from doing so,” Merrick said in an email. “I hope to make a formal decision by May.”
Hall is seeking his second term as mayor and third on city council. Prior to being elected to city council, Hall served 10 years as a trustee on the board of School District 57 – including time as the vice-chair and chair of the board. In addition, Hall represents the city on the board of directors of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George and serves as a director of multiple regional agencies.
Everitt, long-time president of United Steelworkers Local 1-424, will be seeking his third term in office. Everitt represents the city as a director of the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, and is a member of the city’s Finance and Audit Committee.
“The answer to your question is a definite yes, we have had a good group of councillors to work with over the last (four) years and I would be honoured to continue work for the citizens of Prince George,” Everitt said in an email.
Koehler, a retired engineer, entrepreneur, university instructor and inventor who holds several patents, will also be looking for a third term on city council. Koehler also represents the city on the regional district board of directors.
As one of the longest-serving councillors in the city’s history, Krause will be seeking a seventh term in office. If reelected, Krause will have served a total of 23 years on city council – from 1996 to 1999, and from 2002 to 2022 – by the end of his term.
The city’s longest-seving mayor, Alex M. Patterson, served a total of 22 years in office – 17 years as mayor from 1927 to 1944, and five as an alderman from 1921 to 1926.
Krause was the executive director of the Central Interior Native Health Society for 22 years before retiring in January 2017. He also serves on the regional district board of directors and as past president of the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
McConnachie is the former general manager of the Prince George Exhibition and currently works as the executive officer of the Canadian Home Builders’ Association. McConnachie, who is a trustee of the Prince George Public Library, will be seeking her second term in office.
Scott will also be seeking a second term in office. She currently works with Pacific Western Transportation, and serves as the chaplain of the local Royal Canadian Legion, army cadet corps and 2618 Rocky Mountain Rangers. She is also a director of the North Central Local Government Association.
Skakun, another long-serving city councilor, will be looking to return for a sixth term in October. Skakun works in the forest sector, chairs the city’s Intergovernmental Resolutions Committee and is an alternate director of the regional district.
The situation is less clear for the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George.
Longtime Electoral Area G (Crooked RiverParsnip) director Terry Burgess announced at a district meeting in November that he will not be seeking another term in office.
“At 81 if I ran again I’d be 86 when my term would be up,” Burgess said. “There are a few really good people in my area that would make great directors and I am working on them.
“Sorry I can’t say who yet, it’ll be up to them to declare.”
Burgess is the current vice-chairperson of the district board.
Electoral Area C (Chilako River-Nechako) director Lara Beckett was the sole regional director to confirm with The Citizen as of press time her intent to run. Beckett, who holds a degree in biology and environmental studies from the University of Victoria and has a background in alternative forestry practices and policy, will be seeking her third term in office.
Electoral Area A (Salmon River-Lakes) director Warren Wilson said he is still undecided at this point if he’ll toss his hat in the ring for another election.
Directors for Electoral Areas D, E, F and H – Bill Empey, Art Kaehn, Kevin Dunphy and Dannielle Alan – did not respond to The Citizen as of press time.
The remaining seven director positions – four from the City of Prince George, and one each from the District of Mackenzie, Village of McBride and Village of Valemount – are filled by municipal officials elected in those communities. Each would first have to win their local election, then be nominated by their local council to serve on the board of directors.