Pembroke voters will have five choices for mayor this fall after Bill Michaelis became the latest candidate to file his nomination papers on July 27. Michaelis joins incumbent Ron Gervais, Deputy Mayor Brian Abdallah, Stephanie LeMay, and Griffith James Slaughter in the race for the city’s top job in the October 26 municipal election.
The deadline to get on the ballot is August 21 at 2:00 p.m., according to the City of Pembroke elections page. This is the first contested mayoral race since 2018, because Gervais was acclaimed in 2022 when no one ran against him.
Eight candidates are also competing for the six seats on city council. They are Ian Kuehl, Elise Fuisz, James (Jamie) Law, Shawn Behnke, Krista Zingel, Andrew Plummer, Dominique Allard-Auclair, and Terry Lapierre.
Residents who want to vote need to make sure they are on the voters’ list by August 12 so they will receive a Voter Information Letter in early October. Registration can be completed online at RegisterToVoteOn.ca.
The election comes as the city faces budget pressures. Council approved a 2026 budget with a property tax increase of nearly seven per cent, which works out to about $259 more for the average homeowner. A big driver is the need to fix aging infrastructure. The city’s assets are valued at $412.5 million, and they need roughly $11 million per year in investment, but only $7 million is being put in right now, leaving an annual gap of $4 million.
