It was a busy day at Shire Hall as the deadline for Ontario’s upcoming municipal elections passed Friday afternoon.

In some wards, as many as four candidates filed nomination papers in the final 36 hours prior to Friday’s 2 p.m. Deadline to appear on the ballot this fall.

The County’s website posted an unofficial list just after the deadline passed and, barring any legal or technical challenges or changes, the slate should be identical to the ballots that will be issued to voters in October.

In terms being at the head of the Shire Hall horseshoe, it will be a three person race after all.

Current Prince Edward County Councillors Dianne O’Brien and Steve Ferguson had been joined by Ameliasburgh businessman Paul Boyd in the race for Prince Edward County Mayor as late as Thursday however, for reasons that have yet to be explained, Boyd abruptly withdrew his mayoral bid prior to deadline and refiled to enter the race for one of three Ameliasburgh councillor positions.

At the deadline, political neophyte and Picton resident Richard Whiten submitted his name to stand in the race to replace outgoing Mayor Robert Quaiff.

The ward of Ameliasburgh saw a flurry of activity in the closing moments of the nomination period with some recognizable names stepping forward at the last minute.

Former longtime Spohiasburgh Councillor Terry Shortt made it an eight person race with a last minute filing on Friday.

A day prior, Boyd changed his mind and filed to represent Ward 4 as did former Prince Edward County Chamber of Commerce head Micheal McLeod.

Carrying Place resident Andreas Bolik filed his nomination papers on Wednesday.

Previous filers included incumbents Roy Pennell and Janice Maynard.

Tim Fellows and Bill McMahon have also entered the race to be one of three Ameliasburgh representatives at the seat of Prince Edward County government.

In Athol, Jamie Forrester was within hours of being acclaimed but residents in Ward Five will be casting votes for their representative as East Lake residents Bob Rogers and Nicola Chapman both filed on the final day of nominations.

Over in Ward 9, there was another last minute change to the potential ballot.

After being the first person to file in the ward on July 16, Michael Schellenberg withdrew his name to represent South Marysburgh on Friday.

But by the end of the day Friday, four people filed for the lone South Marysburgh seat.

John Hirsch, Elis Ziegler, Brian Sword and Geoff Church are letting their name stand for Prince Edward County’s southeastern community.

In Picton, the Ward One race is set with six candidates seeking one of the two seats available.

Current Bloomfield representative Barry Turpin is joined by Phil St. Jean, Stephanie Bell, Kate MacNaughton, Roy Hobson and Mark Rose.

St. Jean was elected to County Council previously while Bell and Hobson ran in the 2014 campaign for a Picton seat.

The upcoming campaign will see Rose and MacNaughton undertake their first municipal expeditions.

In Ward seven, the race to unseat incumbent Steve Graham grew by one this week as Ernie Margetson was joined in the Hillier runoff by Swamp College Road resident Angie Baldwin.

There was no last minute movement in the soon-to-be amalgamated ward of Bloomfield/Hallowell as incumbents Gord Fox and Brad Nieman are joined in the Ward Two race by Phil Prinzen and Gil Leclerc.

Likewise in Wellington, the Ward Three runoff was set in May and incumbent and former Prince Edward County Warden Jim Dunlop will have his legacy challenged by both Mike Harper and Brent Kleinsteuber.

In North Marysburgh, incumbent Ward Eight David Harrison filed to retain his seat at the Horseshoe earlier this month and will be challenged by early filer Stewart Scott Bailey.

The only ward without a race will be Ward Six where incumbent Sophiasburgh councillor Bill Roberts is booking his return to Shire Hall to represent voters in the county’s northeastern ward.

The race to represent the southern wards at the Hastings & Prince Edward District School Board was finalized this week after longtime trustee and former Board chair Dwayne Inch was challenged by Picton resident Matti Kopamees and Cherry Valley’s Alison Kelly.

In the north wards, trustee Jennifer Cobb was unopposed and will be acclaimed for a second straight term.

The full and final official listing of candidates will be posted to the County’s website no later than 4 p.m. on Monday, July 30.

For more information, please visit https://www.thecounty.ca/county-government/departments/clerks-office/municipal-elections/