Nominations for Edmonton’s municipal election are closed as the city gears up for voting day on Oct. 20. One-hundred and forty Edmontonians are official candidates for mayoral, councillor and school trustee positions. There are 13 candidates for mayor and 81 councillor hopefuls across Edmonton’s 12 wards. Voter information cards will be sent to all registered electors and residential addresses in coming weeks, the city said as nominations closed. Special ballot packages for those unable to vote in person will also be sent out or made available for pickup at the Edmonton Elections office. Advance polls are open Oct. 7 to 11. Post-secondary students looking to vote in their home ward can do so at voting stations at Concordia, MacEwan, NAIT, NorQuest and the University of Alberta during advance poll voting days. Below is a list of each candidate for mayor or councillor in the ward they’re running for. School board trustees have not been included in this list. Mayoral candidates (in alphabetical order by last name) While there are 13 candidates officially in the running for Edmonton’s open mayor position, only five were invited to the Chamber of Commerce for a televised debate on Sept. 12. Front-running candidates were chosen based on the percentage of support they received from a Leger poll of Edmontonians. Political experts have said there was no clear winner to the debate nor a dark horse in terms of the issues on people’s minds, although salient topics have veered toward issues of taxes, social disorder and dealing with increasing city population growth. Current Mayor Amarjeet Sohi previously announced he would not run for mayor this election, meaning each candidate is vying for an open seat. Also new this year is the introduction of municipal slates like the Better Edmonton party and Principled Accountable Coalition for Edmonton (PACE). The move for municipal political parties was passed in Alberta legislation last year and gives both Edmonton and Calgary the power to create party platforms for city elections. As of Tuesday, Sept. 23, these were the mayoral nominees who had paid their fees, gotten the required signatures and had not dropped out of the race: Paul Bakhmut Bakhmut came to Edmonton 15 years ago and worked his way up to city hall. He currently works as a senior policy advisor to Alberta Minister of Technology and Innovation Nate Glubish. Ronald Stewart Billingsley Jr. Billingsley had a career in law before his suspension in 2024. His website says he’s running on a platform of “bold, disruptive action” in the hopes of ending homelessness, championing voter rights and fighting for equality. Tim Cartmell - Better Edmonton Perhaps one of the more recognizable names of the race so far and one of the debaters in mid-September, Cartmell is currently the councillor for Ward pihêsiwin but announced his campaign for council’s top job early last year. He’s also the face of Better Edmonton but recently announced the party would dissolve after the election. Tony Caterina Just missing the mark for the televised mayoral debate with two per cent of the Leger poll’s support, Caterina is a lifelong Edmontonian who sat on city council from 2007 to 2021. His policies largely surround issues of fiscal responsibility in the wake of what he has called council overreach. Abdul Malik Chukwudi A geological engineer by trade, Chukwudi ran for mayor in 2021 and has thrown his hat back into the ring on an independent platform looking to shake up what he told Alberta Primetime was the “entitlement” of certain people running for council positions. Vanessa Denman According to her website, Denman works as a business intuitive consultant. She’s running on a platform of sustainability, inclusivity and limitlessness. Her slogan is “Edmonton is not broken – it’s becoming.” Andrzej Gudanowski Gudanowski previously ran for city council in 2013, 2017 and 2021. In 2019 and 2023, he ran in both the provincial and federal elections. His website posits him as an independent candidate with moderate conservative views running on a platform of “security, responsibility and prosperity.” Rahim Jaffer Jaffer was one of the five candidates invited to the mayoral debate. He’s a former federal MP for Edmonton-Strathcona and now runs Rooster Kitchen & Bar on Whyte Avenue. Despite his political experience, Jaffer has been referred to as an outsider candidate for his approach to city council issues. Andrew Knack Knack has been on the city council for the last 12 years and currently represents Ward Nakota Isga. He came out of Edmonton’s mayoral debate as a “status quo candidate,” according to political analyst John Brennan. Knack is running on policies involving financial sustainability and safe streets. Omar Mohammad Mohammad is, as he says, proudly not a career politician. He introduced himself as a candidate to Edmontonians in the mayoral debate. He’s a pediatric dental surgeon by trade and running on a platform he calls “Edmonton’s Future First.” Utha Nadauk Nadauk has a background in software engineering and financial advising. His website features nine policies on issues like taxes, street safety, support for vulnerable people, and local business. Olney Tugwell Tugwell is a first-time candidate who worked as a probation parole officer with the Alberta government for nine years. Michael Walters The fifth attendee at the mayoral debate, Walters served two terms on Edmonton’s city council beginning in 2013 and left in 2021 to work for Berlin Communications. Brennan said Walters has positioned himself as a change candidate. Councillors (by ward) The City of Edmonton has 12 electoral wards, meaning where you live will determine your candidates and where you will vote come election day. A full map of how wards are broken down can be found on the city’s website. Those who are unsure of where they’re voting can search their ward up on the Edmonton Elections website. Here are the city council candidates for each ward. Their website is linked to their name if available: Anirniq Ali Al Kassab Nurmaiya Brady (Better Edmonton) Rob Fediuk (PACE) Ali Haymour Erin Rutherford (incumbent) Aggripa Wajo Jesse Watson Dene Paul Brake Albert Mazzocca (PACE) Lana Palmer Aaron Paquette (incumbent) Banisha Sandhu (Better Edmonton) Jean Pierre Valois Ipiihkoohkanipiaohtsi Ramey Demian Beth Mathison Jon Morgan Fahad Mughal Funke Olokude Nicholas Rheubottom (Better Edmonton) Jennifer Rice (incumbent) Karhiio Jason Bale Manny Bautista Joti Buttar (Better Edmonton) Yogesh Garg Hali Kaur (PACE) Paul Mah Atiq Rehman Avinash Soochit Keren Tang (incumbent) Métis Abdulhakim Dalel James Gosse Caroline Matthews (Better Edmonton) Norm Paradis Ashley Salvador (incumbent) Justin Thomas (PACE) Nakota Isga *Mayoral candidate Andrew Knack is currently councillor for this ward Reed Clarke (Better Edmonton) Nicky Gocuan Rajah Maggay Joseph Mugodo Diana Steele (PACE) Joseph Woodruff O-day’min David Aaron Stephen Hammerschmidt (Better Edmonton) James Miller Lee Permann Adil Pirbhai Benjamin Anand Pye Anne Stevenson (incumbent) Patrick Stewart Mulugeta (Mully) Tesfay papastew Joshua Doyle (Better Edmonton) Mark Hillman (PACE) Terrie Holgerson Rozalia Janiszewska Michael Janz (incumbent) pihêsiwin *Mayoral candidate Tim Cartmell is currently councillor for this ward Sara Awatta Michael Elliott (Better Edmonton) Mohammad Ali Kamal Larry Langley Jackie Liu Rupesh Patel sipiwiyiniwak *The incumbent, Sarah Hamilton, is not seeking re-election Bassam Fares Darrell Friesen (Better Edmonton) Giselle Quezon General Danny Heikkinen Roger Kotch Thu Parmar Ken Ropcean (PACE) Sspomitapi Imran Bashir Annie Chua-Frith Harman Singh Kandola (Better Edmonton) Sukhi Randhawa Sandeep Singh Ashok Sui Steve Van Diest (PACE) Jo-Anne Wright (incumbent) tastawiyiniwak Fidel Ammar (PACE) Farhan Chak Jimmy Clement Idi Jennifer Porritt Karen Principe (incumbent) (Better Edmonton)
