Waddell announces candidacy for Cornwallis reeve
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Helping to stabilize the municipality is the main goal for Mike Waddell in his bid to become the next reeve of Cornwallis.
Waddell announced his candidacy Thursday afternoon. The rural municipality is set to have a byelection for its vacant reeve position on Dec. 3.
“I really want to help be a catalyst to continue the improvements and stability that have happened. I’m a big believer in that open and consistent communication,” Waddell, 55, said Friday.
Mike Waddell (Submitted)
A car salesman and owner of the coffee-shop newsletter News In A Minute, Waddell served as a Ward 1 councillor between 2014 and 2018.
He was the only confirmed candidate as of Friday. Nominations are open until Oct. 21.
There has been a fair share of chaos in the municipality in recent years, and the short 11-month term as reeve would be perfect to help stabilize the 4,568-resident municipality that borders Brandon, Waddell said. The regularly scheduled municipal elections are on Oct. 28, 2026.
“One of the things that my (first) time on council was marked by was that I was a big believer in finding ways to create collaborative approaches and to make sort of a good communication,” Waddell said.
He isn’t coming into the byelection with a big agenda and has “no desire to kick open doors” if he is elected, he said.
“One of the things I’d like to work on is just reminding people what an incredible place the RM of Cornwallis is.”
That includes “the beauty of the Brandon Hills,” rich resources in gravel and agriculture, and CFB Shilo.
Waddell said what the municipality has to offer is an important part of helping it to achieve stability, which also includes finding a new chief administrative officer. The municipality has been without a full-time person in that role since June 2022.
“We’ve got just so many resources and so many great people. It’s just a matter of reminding ourselves of that.”
Waddell’s campaign will be a “simple grassroots” effort, talking with people he knows and not spending a lot of money, he said.
He said he considered running for reeve in 2018, but personal obligations and work got in the way. He has lived in the municipality for 26 years. Being reeve now would still need to be managed carefully, he said.
“It’s going to be a lot of work to juggle, but what do they say? ‘How do you get something done? Give it to a busy person,’” he said.
“So being that this is a relatively short-term situation, I think it gives me a chance to potentially serve well, determining if I have the capacity to handle committing to a four-year term after this one-year term.”
The Dec. 3 byelection was triggered after reeve Sam Hofer resigned in April. Waddell and Hofer served as Ward 1 councillors together in 2014 to 2018, as each ward has two councillors.
» alambert@brandonsun.com