No new mayor, only one new candidate: how Steinbach's municipal election is shaping up

Steinbach's mayor is returning for a second term after being acclaimed with no challengers, and there's not much change on the horizon for the rest of city council, where seven candidates are vying for six seats.

Mayor Earl Funk was elected in 2018, winning 41 per cent of the vote in a three candidate race.

No challengers came forward this time around, meaning Funk has been acclaimed Mayor for a second term.

“I think it is probably the best vote of confidence you could ever get is that nobody challenges you because the general public, the majority, must feel you’re doing a good job,” said Funk.

Funk, who served two terms on city council prior to becoming mayor, looks back at the past four years as an overwhelming success.

“It was the first time that collectively all the campaign promises that have been made have been either completed or are in process,” he said.

As Funk begins a second term in office, he says his focus is centered on economic development, infrastructure, and recreation services.

“Continue more of the same. More neighbourhood projects, of course, the big project, we’re building a big event centre.”

In the meantime, seven candidates are vying for six city council seats in Steinbach.

All six current councillors — Bill Hiebert, Jake Hiebert, Damien Penner, Susan Penner, Jac Siemens, and Michael Zwaagstra — are seeking re-election.

That leaves long-time resident Shawn Liska — as the fresh face on the ballot.

“I may be new to politics, but I’m not new to Steinbach,” he said.

Liska says he was surprised at the lack of other new candidates in the city council race.

“There’s a lot of projects and exciting things going on in Steinbach, the town is growing leaps and bounds, and I’d love to see more people get involved.”

Liska credits work done by the current council, but thinks there’s an opportunity for more community engagement going forward.

“As Steinbach grows and becomes more diverse, there’s a lot of different needs and different voices that need to be heard.”

Funk says he’s looking forward to working with city council — whether or not there is change in the chambers.

“We don’t have to agree, but we do need to have unity and we need to move our city forward.”

Steinbach residents join the rest of Manitoba at the polls on Oct. 26th.