At least seven of 13 city council members will put their names forward again in the Oct. 26 civic election.
The following city council members confirmed their candidacy with Sudbury.com: Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti, Ward 2 Coun. Eric Benoit, Ward 3 Coun. Michel Brabant, Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin, Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent, Ward 6 Coun. René Lapierre and Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée.
Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc declined to comment but said he’d be interested in other members’ responses.
Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann said she was undecided at this time, and Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh said she’d decide later this year.
Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer said he was undecided, but “leaning toward not running again,” adding, “never say never.”
“Just, philosophically, three terms is enough,” he said. “Time to turn it over to someone else.”
Through his office staff, Mayor Paul Lefebvre said he’d make an announcement regarding whether he is seeking re-election “at the appropriate time.”
Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier did not respond. Sudbury.com sent all city council members an email inquiry on Dec. 29. This was followed by two emails in subsequent days and a phone message to those who still hadn’t on Jan. 5.
In the case of both Benoit and Brabant, the Oct. 26 civic election won’t mark re-election bids like their colleagues, since both council members were instated by city council and not elected.
In the 2022 civic election, Benoit lost against incumbent Michael Vagnini and Brabant lost against incumbent Gerry Montpellier. After both elected officials died in early 2024, city council opted to swear in their opponents rather than host a byelection.
“I feel like we are starting to make some headway as council and I want to make sure we keep our momentum as we move forward,” Benoit told Sudbury.com, citing Lively recreational amenity work, water/wastewater upgrades in Lively/Walden and “unlocking the potential in the area” as key goals.
“With the new executive in place at the city I am excited to see what we can accomplish going forward,” Benoit said.
Brabant said his brief time on council has given him a better understanding of municipal operations and that one key goal will be to highlight “the fact that the outlying wards require just as much attention as the downtown core.”
Calling the current city council “cohesive,” Signoretti said he looked forward to working with mayor and council to move their collective vision forward, including seeing the downtown event centre and Cultural Hub at Tom Davies Square projects through to the end.
Other goals include improving roads and other municipal infrastructure.
“There is lots to build upon, many projects to see through and still some hard work needed to improve things,” Fortin said. “I am still up for the task.”
For Parent’s re-election bid, growing the tax base, supporting the roadmap to end homelessness, reducing the city’s operating costs and improving road maintenance within the budget are key goals.
“Continuity matters in municipal government, and one term is not enough time to fully deliver on the work our city has started,” said Labbée, who was first elected to city council in 2022.
“Politics isn’t for everyone, especially in today’s challenging environment of online bullying, harassment, and widespread misinformation, but despite it all, I remain committed to focusing on the positive impact of the work we’re doing.”
In the previous civic election in late 2022, there was little upset from the previous incarnation of city council, with the majority of incumbents re-elected.
Nine of 13 members of city council remained in place from the 2018-22 incarnation, including Ward 1 Coun. Mark Signoretti, Ward 2 Coun. Michael Vagnini, Ward 3 Coun. Gerry Montpellier, Ward 6 Coun. Rene Lapierre, Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer, Ward 9 Coun. Deb McIntosh, Ward 10 Coun. Fern Cormier, Ward 11 Coun. Bill Leduc and Ward 12 Coun. Joscelyne Landry-Altmann.
Newcomers included Mayor Paul Lefebvre, Ward 4 Coun. Pauline Fortin, Ward 5 Coun. Mike Parent and Ward 7 Coun. Natalie Labbée.
In Ward 7, former Ward 7 Coun. Mike Jakubo did not seek re-election in 2022.
Fortin narrowly defeated incumbent Geoff McCausland, while Parent defeated incumbent Robert Kirwan by a landslide.
Although incumbent mayor Brian Bigger’s name appeared on the ballot, he publicly announced that he’d withdrawn his name from contention a few weeks prior to election day (after the deadline to do so). This means that although Lefebvre technically upset an incumbent, the incumbent publicly forfeited his candidacy.
The nomination period for the Oct. 26 civic election will take place from May 1 to 2 p.m. on Aug. 21, which is also the deadline to withdraw candidacy. Those candidates running unopposed will be acclaimed at 4 p.m. on Aug. 24.
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.