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Three candidates put names forward for Port by-election

A former mayor, a local tourism advocate and a newcomer from Victoria have all submitted nominations for the upcoming by-election in Port Clements.
When the nomination deadline passed at 4 pm Friday, there were three candidates on the list to fill the empty councillor seat: Gerry Johnson, Urs Thomas and Cheri Kleidon.
Mr. Johnson is a longtime resident with 24 years of experience on council, both as mayor and councillor. A forestry consultant with strong views about community control over local resources, he was defeated for the first time in the general election held last November.
Mr. Thomas, who owns the Golden Spruce motel, is active in the QCI Chamber of Commerce and the Haida Gwaii Tourism Association. He also ran in the November election and was defeated.
Ms Kleidon, a mother of two young children with experience in the tourism industry, moved to Port from Victoria in June. She told the Observer she decided to run because she is interested in local issues like community spirit, the school and parks.
"It seems to me Port Clements needs a little bit of an oomph," she said. "It's got huge potentialÂ… I think I can bring a fresh new approach to things."
The council seat became available when Derek Hoenen resigned in June. Whoever is elected will sit at the council table until December 2008.
Candidates have until next Friday (Aug. 11) to withdraw their names. The by-election will be held Sept. 9.