Dylan Borody and Roman Charko have both put their hats in to run for the role of Carrot River’s mayor in the upcoming byelection.
Dennis Letendre, the previous mayor who was elected through the November 2020 election resigned due to health concerns in March.
The next mayor will serve the community until November, 2024.
The regular poll will take place on May 12 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Carrot River Community Hall on 3rd Avenue, while the advance poll will take place on April 28, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the town office on Main Street.
Roman Charko
Charko served on the RM of Moose Range council for 20 years, with 12 years done consecutively.
In this role, he has served on the North East Transportation Planning Area Committee and the Twin Lakes District Planning Commission.
Charko currently serves on the Hudson Bay Route Association (HBRA) and as the vice-president for the Saskatchewan side of the Gateway Keewatin Corridor Inc.
Other roles he’s filled include the advisory committee for Saskatchewan Assessment Management Agency (SAMA) as well as the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities (SARM) resolutions committee for District 4 by appointment.
“I’ve always had an interest in municipal politics, always have, if I haven’t I wouldn’t have served on the RM for 20 years,” Charko said.
“I’ve had many, many phone calls, ratepayers asking me to put my name in...I gave it considerable thought and finally said, ‘Yeah, okay, I will.’”
If elected, Charko said he would have a focus on promoting business into the community, pointing to the involvement of current industries throughout the surrounding area.
“Those people all contribute to the community and make the community viable. If we can bring more businesses to the community it would make the community strong.”
Another thing he said he would bring to the table is his experience in municipal politics.
“I’ve got experience for municipal politics, I got the integrity and I have the energy to do it.”
Dylan Borody
Borody is a current councillor and acting mayor of Carrot River, following Letendre’s resignation in March.
He currently serves as Carrot River’s deputy fire chief, and has previously filled the role as interim fire chief for about six months.
Other roles he’s filled include the town’s fire committee, Twin Lakes District Planning Committee, Pasqua Trust Committee, and Employee Committee.
Borody said he has no personal agenda in mind, just thoughts and ideas from the taxpayers.
“I want to ensure our community is financially responsible while trying to maintain the best quality of service,” he said. “Sometimes this can be a daunting task but I look forward to the challenge. I want us to plan for the future and not get caught looking just at the now.”
He said that while he will bring his experiences and has a great council to work with, he also plans to lean on others when needed and possibly bounce ideas off previous members of council.
“I would like to finish off by letting the people of Carrot River know to get out and make your voice heard,” Borody said.
“This is our community, let's make it as great as it can be.”
