Fresh faces enter city council race

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This article was published 07/07/2022 (1331 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two Brandon realtors are the first non-incumbents running in this fall’s municipal election.

On Thursday, friends and competitors Tyson Tame and Quentin Derhak told the Sun they will be running in the Green Acres and Victoria wards, respectively, for spots on Brandon City Council.

Green Acres, which will be known only as Ward 10 after election day, is losing its sitting councillor after Jan Chaboyer announced her intent to retire once her current term expires.

It’s the third run at city council for Tame, who lost in the 2014 municipal election to Vanessa Hamilton and in 2016 in a byelection to Coun. Glen Parker, both in the Riverview ward.

In the Victoria ward, which is changing names to Ward 3, Derhak will face off against Coun. Barry Cullen as the latter vies for a third consecutive council term. It’s Derhak’s first time running for council.

Both Tame and Derhak said they chose to run in the wards in which they grew up. Tame works for Royal LePage, while Derhak plies his trade at Century 21.

Though Tame is running in a ward where he’ll be unopposed by an incumbent, he said that wasn’t necessarily his motivation.

“I do think it serves the constituents best when there’s a choice,” he said. “I encourage anyone and everyone to put their names forward. I think the City of Brandon is best served with choice. I don’t want to pick low-hanging fruit and pick an easy race.”

He said he didn’t want to run in the Riverview ward for two reasons: he thinks Parker has done a good job and he doesn’t think he’d beat him in a race. However, he said Parker encouraged him to run in Green Acres.

“I grew up in Green Acres and my Brandon Sun paper route was in Green Acres,” Tame said. “I went door-to-door already as a child. I love the area. I think Jan’s done an excellent job there and I would love to further her initiatives and assist in the concerns that the constituents currently have.”

Something he’d like to see the city pursue should he get elected would be more recreation options for children as well as keeping a close eye on safety and infrastructure.

Asked about what the city can do to improve voter turnout, Tame said that incentivizing people to vote could be a good idea.

In Derhak’s case, he said he believes he’ll be able to connect with voters in Victoria ward since he’s younger than many of the existing councillors and has a strong grasp on how to use social media.

Though this is his first go at office, he said the idea of running is something he has been mulling over for years.

In his former career as a barber, he said customers would tell him that he’s a good listener and that a voice like his would be valuable at Brandon City Hall.

He described himself as a progressive voice who doesn’t like to keep the status quo.

While he and Tame work for competing agencies at their day jobs, Derhak said he believes they would make excellent team players if elected.

“A team starts with two, right?” he said.

Candidate applications are currently open for both mayoral and city council candidates. The formal registration period is from Sept. 14-20.

Running for re-election are councillors Shaun Cameron (University), Sunday Frangi (Meadows-Waverly), Parker (Riverview), Cullen (Victoria), Bruce Luebke (South Centre) and Kris Desjarlais (Rosser).

Coun. Jeff Fawcett (Assiniboine) is running again but is vying for the mayor’s chair being left vacant by Rick Chrest, who has announced he’ll be retiring at the end of the term.

Coun. Chaboyer (Green Acres) is the only councillor who has officially announced their intention not to run again.

Election day is Oct. 26.

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