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Former Beiseker councillor Ray Courtman is taking over the mayor's seat after Bruce Rowe was elected MLA for Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills in the April Provincial election.

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New mayor of Beiseker looking forward to position

The Village of Beiseker will be holding a civic by-election on July 23 to fill the council seat vacated by Ray Courtman, who was appointed mayor on May 14.

Courtman was selected by council to take over the position vacated by former mayor Bruce Rowe, who was elected to represent the Olds-Didsbury-Three Hills riding in Provincial Legislature on April 23.

“Bruce and I have worked very well together over the last couple terms and I’m hoping to be able to keep the ship going on a steady course,” said Courtman. “Bruce was doing a fantastic job as mayor and I hope to continue on in that direction."

Courtman expects to serve as mayor at least until the next organizational meeting in October, when council, which currently includes councillors Karen Ursu, Fred Walters and Al Henuset, will appoint a mayor and deputy mayor.

“We will be waiting for the results of the election in July and then we will get a fifth councillor on and will operate that way until October. At that time, council will determine if it wants to appoint a new mayor and deputy mayor,” he said. “I expect whoever is elected will fit in very nicely and work well with the four of us. They’re a very great organization to work with, and I hope we can have an excellent operating situation with the new councilor coming in.”

The retired school teacher has been involved in local politics since moving to Beiseker in 1970, serving as a councillor for several years in the ‘70s and late ‘90s, as well as mayor in 2000 and deputy mayor since then.

“I decided to get involved in local politics when I realized that in a small town like this, every single person can make a real difference,” he said.

During his career as a teacher and school administrator, the father of two taught at several schools in Calgary, as well as Beiseker Community School and Crossfield Elementary School, until he retired from teaching in 1999 and began work in aviation photography and running a small publishing business out of his home in 2000.

Since stepping into the new role as mayor, Courtman said the two major issues council has been dealing with have been the shutdown of the village’s water supply and balancing the budget.

Courtman said he hopes these issues can be resolved shortly and looks forward to having a fresh face on council to help deal with any forthcoming issues.

Nominations for council candidates will be open from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. (noon) on June 25. Following that, nominees will have 24 hours to accept or withdraw their nomination and candidates will be announced thereafter.

For more information, contact the Village of Beiseker at 403-947-3774.