Buckle up for a good race for the mayor’s chair on Slave Lake town council. Challenging the incumbent mayor is Chris Jones – well known around town in recent years for his volunteer work.
Jones was not ready last week to talk much about his platform; he said he had to meet first with his ‘team’ to discuss the message and the strategy. But he’s running to win, and it’s a fair bet that he’s got a few issues on his mind.
Karina Pillay-Kinnee is a one-term incumbent seeking a second term. She says she welcomes the competition, both for mayor and for council seats.
“I feel very excited,” she says. “It’s fantastic to see so many people wanting to get involved. It should be a good race.”
Pillay-Kinnee defeated four other mayoral contenders in the 2004 election. That one brought out a remarkable 70-plus per cent of the voting public in a blizzard. The issue of smoking in public places was on the ballot, and apparently had aroused quite a bit of interest. Pillay-Kinnee was known as a proponent of a smoking ban in public places accessible to children, and she won handily.
Jones was not one of her opponents at the time. This time, he’s the only one.
“I want to see some changes,” he says.
Jones recently switched from a management position with Focus Surveys to real estate with Progressive Royal LePage Realty in Slave Lake. He says the new job gives him the flexibility he believes he needs to serve as mayor.
Asked why he’s going for mayor instead of a council position, Jones points out that the incumbent mayor did the same thing three years ago. But he also points out, “I don’t think somebody should be acclaimed into that office. This way they have a choice.”

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