No countdown of our top 15 stories from 2020 would be complete without this fall's Municipal Election - our #12 story of the year.

The call for nominations was issued on Sep. 22 and by the time nominations closed on Oct. 7, there were fifteen Moose Javians running for the six seats on City Councill and three other residents looking to be Mayor.

Incumbent councilors Heather Eby, Dawn Luhning, and Crystal Froese were all on the ballot but councilors Chris Warren, Scott McMann, and Brian Swanson all decided to not put their names in the running again. Not shy of controversy, Swanson had become arguably the most recognized member of council over his 24 years on the job.

"I just would like to express to the people of Moose Jaw that I've always considered it a tremendous privilege to sit in this chair and represent your interests," said Swanson during his final council meeting. "I make no apologies for what I've done over the years. I've always attempted to come here every night well prepared, to have a thorough knowledge of the issue, and to clearly speak a position that was backed up."

The roster of new candidates included Doug Blanc, Joni Brisbin, Jody Chell, Jamaal James, Jamey Logan, Trevor McPherson, Kim Robinson, Doug Schick, Dwayne St. Dennis, Nicholas Styck, Earl Swalm, and Steven White.

The candidates for City Council took part in a virtual all candidates forum due to gathering restrictions.

Mayor Fraser Tolmie announced his candidacy on Oct. 1 after a long period of speculation on whether or not he would run for a second term.

"I think about the trust that [the community has] given me and that I'm a servant of the people," remarked Tolmie at his campaign kickoff. "To restore honour to politics we have to recognize that we are servants and that it's not a position of status, and I will maintain that as long as I'm there...One of the challenges will be getting people back to work. So creating jobs is very important and that's been something that we've been aggressively pursuing for the last four years. We've been attracting investments which have gotten close to 1 billion dollars over the past term."

Up against Tolmie were newcomers John Kot and Nancy Nash. Speeding up infrastructure repairs and curbing spending were at the top of Kot's priorities.

"We're all going to have to control spending in all departments. Of course, we have to fix our infrastructure issues and bring more business to the city. [We should be] attracting more business to our city which in turn will bring more families to live here...For tourism, we need more signage on our major highway. There's hardly any advertising to pull people in to come have a look at Moose Jaw."

Nash hoped to focus on local businesses to help the city's economy recover, rather than seek investments from larger companies.

"I like the idea of innovative smaller mom & pop type businesses that don't encroach upon each other or monopolize. Less tech, more organic...We want to have a variety of business and entertainment options to bring more folks from farms and surrounding communities. They are an integral part of Moose Jaw's well-being...[We need to] make sure our current citizens are given priority, they have the first opportunity to job availability. As mayor, this [would be] my duty. Take care of the citizens already here."

The advance polls opened on Oct. 29, and just in the Provincial Election, the number of ballots cast ahead of time significantly increased compared to earlier years. However, once the total came in from election night, the overall voting numbers were down from over 11,000 in 2016 to only around 5,800 in 2020. This accounted for only about 22 per cent of the city's eligible voters.

Election Day itself, Nov. 9, arrived just on the heels of a low Colorado system that brought nearly a foot of snow to Moose Jaw, making many roads nearly impassible. City crews had been working since the evening before to clear major roadways and to make sure routes to the polls were open. Free transit to the voting booths was also provided for the day.

The City's communications manager, Craig Hemmingway, speculated that the weather could have been a factor in the low voter turnout.

"The weather may have kept some people away and compared to the 2016 election, there wasn't one single major issue like funding cast iron water mains, to get people worked up."

The candidates waited expectantly that evening as the votes were tallied and the final results were announced after only a short time.

Fraser Tolmie's name was added to a short list of Moose Jaw mayors to win a second term. (Photo courtesy of Fraser Tolmie).

Fraser Tolmie won his second term as Mayor becoming the first mayor of Moose Jaw to be re-elected for a second term since Al Schwinghamer in 2000. Tolmie took over 55 per cent of the vote for a total of 3,189, beating John Kot's 2,316 and Nash's 287.

"I've said this numerous times, that every mayor that has gone before me has built something towards our community," commented Tolmie upon learning of his win. "They've served in a capacity that they wanted to do good for their community and I wanted to do that as well...we're going to be getting better and we're going to accomplish more."

Councillors Eby, Luhning, and Froese all won back their seats, joined by newcomers Jamey Logan, Doug Blanc, and Kim Robinson.

The Mayor and Council were sworn in on Nov. 16.