Who’s running in the Boundary? Your guide to the 2026 local elections

Contested races are set across Grand Forks, Greenwood, Midway and Christina Lake, while voters will also choose School District 51 trustees

Grand Forks Mayor Everett Baker, Coun. David Mark, RDKB Area D Director Linda Kay Wiese and Area C Director Grace McGregor are among local officials pictured outside Grand Forks City Hall in June 2026. Baker and Mark are seeking re-election, Wiese is the sole declared candidate in Area D, while McGregor is not seeking another term.

Photo: City of Grand Forks


Boundary voters will have choices in municipal, regional district and school board races this fall, with contested mayoral and council elections in Grand Forks, Greenwood and Midway, a two-candidate race for Regional District of Kootenay Boundary director at Christina Lake and contested School District 51 trustee races in Grand Forks and Kettle Valley East.

Nominations for the 2026 general local elections closed Sept. 11. Candidates may withdraw until Friday, Sept. 18, and the campaign period begins Sept. 19.

General voting day is Saturday, Oct. 17, with advance voting scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7.

Here is who is running across the Boundary.

Grand Forks

Grand Forks voters will choose between two candidates for mayor, while 12 candidates are competing for six council seats.

Incumbent Mayor Everett Baker is seeking a second term as mayor against Kirk Duff.

Mayor

Everett Baker
Kirk Duff

Council

Christina Abbott
Shaun Aquiline
Nicole Best
Justin Dinsdale
Zak Eburne-Stoodley
Kaja Gjesdal
Neil Krog
David Mark
Cameron D. O’Dell
Christopher Stevenson
Crystal Sullivan
Rod Zielinski

Four sitting councillors are seeking another term.

Neil Krog has the longest municipal record among them. City records show him serving as a councillor as early as 2002, and he was elected mayor in 2005. He returned to council in 2011 and has served there since.

Zak Eburne-Stoodley and Rod Zielinski have served on council since 2018 and are each seeking a third consecutive term, while David Mark, elected in 2022, is seeking a second.

Grand Forks voters will also choose two representatives on the School District 51 Board of Education, where four candidates are seeking the two seats.

Greenwood

Greenwood has a contested mayoral race, with Barry Noll and current councillor C.J. Rhodes seeking the position.

Six candidates are running for four council seats.

Mayor

Barry Noll
C.J. Rhodes

Council

Jason Atkins
Clint Huisman
Chrissy Lang
Jessica McLean
Gerry Shaw
Doug Trask

Current Mayor John Bolt is not among the candidates seeking the mayor's office this year.

Midway

Midway voters face a three-way race for mayor, with current councillor Richard Dunsdon, former mayor Martin Fromme and incumbent Mayor Doug McMynn seeking the position.

Five candidates are running for four council seats.

Mayor

Richard Dunsdon
Martin Fromme
Doug McMynn

Council

Darrin Metcalf
Michaela Parrott
Aaron Pownall
Gary Schierbeck
Judy Willsey

Metcalf, Pownall and Willsey currently serve on council alongside Dunsdon, who is running for mayor rather than another council term.

Christina Lake

Christina Lake has the only contested RDKB electoral-area director race in the Boundary.

Rocio Graham and Rupert Oldroyd are running to represent Electoral Area C/Christina Lake.

Area C — Christina Lake

Rocio Graham
Rupert Oldroyd

Current director Grace McGregor is not seeking another term.

Rural Grand Forks

Linda Kay Wiese is the only declared candidate for Electoral Area D/Rural Grand Forks.

Area D — Rural Grand Forks

Linda Kay Wiese

Wiese currently represents the area on the RDKB board.

West Boundary

Sharen Gibbs is the only declared candidate for Electoral Area E/West Boundary.

Area E — West Boundary

Sharen Gibbs

Gibbs currently represents West Boundary on the RDKB board.

School District 51

Seven trustee positions are up for election on the School District 51 Board of Education, including two representing Grand Forks and one representing each of five rural trustee electoral areas.

Grand Forks has the largest school-board field, with four candidates seeking two positions.

City of Grand Forks — two trustees

Jaime Massey
Krissy Jorgenson
Liddie Sorensen-Lawrence
James Wilson

Massey currently serves as one of the city's two trustees.

Area C — Christina Lake

Lauren Thomas

One trustee represents Christina Lake.

Area D — Rural Grand Forks

Danielle Thielmann

One trustee represents Rural Grand Forks.

Kettle Valley West

Mark Danyluk

Kettle Valley West includes Midway and the Rock Creek, Bridesville and Kettle Valley areas. Danyluk currently represents the area on the board.

Kettle Valley North

Rose Zitko

Kettle Valley North includes Westbridge, Beaverdell, Christian Valley, Idabel Lake and Big White. Zitko currently holds the seat.

Kettle Valley East

Katie Jepsen
Darla Ashton

Kettle Valley East, which includes Greenwood and rural areas around Greenwood and Midway, has a contested race between incumbent trustee Katie Jepsen and Darla Ashton.

What happens next

Candidates have until Sept. 18 to withdraw, with the campaign period beginning the following day.

The RDKB is holding an all-candidates event at the Grand Forks Secondary School auditorium Thursday, Sept. 24. Doors open at 5:45 p.m., with the event scheduled from 6 to approximately 8 p.m.

Advance voting is scheduled for Wednesday, Oct. 7, followed by general voting day Saturday, Oct. 17. Voting places will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.


Shara Cooper MA, MFA

Shara Cooper is the founder of Nordic Prairie Life (formerly, Recipe & Roots) and owner of the Boundary Sentinel. She is the mother of two teenage daughters, one dog (The Mediocre Gatsby), and one cat (Princess Roseabella the First aka Rosie). She lives in Edmonton, Alberta. You can find her writing most recently in the Toronto Star.

https://www.sharacooper.ca
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