One incumbent Flin Flon city councillor has announced that she will not be running again for her spot.
Karen MacKinnon announced April 26 that she would not run for a seat in local elections set for this fall, choosing instead to step away from council and chart a new path.
MacKinnon wrote a short speech and spoke briefly during the meeting - as often takes place with MacKinnon’s public remarks, she choked up while reading the speech, leading Mayor Cal Huntley to read a portion of the speech while MacKinnon battled back tears.
“After serving 16 years as a Flin Flon city councillor, I’m announcing that I will not be running in the upcoming election,” read MacKinnon’s remarks.
“It has not been an easy decision for me. Being a representative of the City of Flin Flon has been an amazing journey.”
Originally from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, MacKinnon moved to the area in 1977 and has lived in Flin Flon ever since. She was first elected to city council back in 2006 and has stayed on the council ever since, winning seats in four consecutive elections. A former employee of The Reminder, MacKinnon has also served as the president of the Flin Flon and District Chamber of Commerce and has served in several capacities with the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM), including as the group’s northern Manitoba director.
In recent years, MacKinnon has pushed for an increase in seniors’ housing in the Flin Flon area and the construction of a new pool and aquatic complex to replace the now-bulldozed Flin Flon Aqua Centre. While new seniors’ housing has not yet been built in the community, a replacement for the pool complex appears on track, with the City having received millions in grant money from both the federal and provincial governments.
“She has been an amazing representative for the City of Flin Flon. We really will miss you and we want to acknowledge you for all your years of service and we know you’re not going very far away,” said Huntley, speaking for himself.
MacKinnon is the first sitting member of Flin Flon’s city council to publicly announce her intentions for this year’s local election. The other council members - Colleen Arnold, Tim Babcock, Leslie Beck, Bill Hanson and Ken Pawlachuk, as well as Mayor Huntley - have not publicly announced their plans and whether or not they will run for reelection.
In her byelection campaign to be named to council last year, Beck said she planned to run for mayor this year, but she has not made remarks publicly since about a possible run.
No other candidates have announced intentions to challenge for a seat on council or to run for mayor.
The next local election will be held on or before October 26. The City sought to hire a senior election official to carry out election day duties in March. Deadlines for candidates to file necessary paperwork for the election have not yet been announced.
