The regional chair position has been held by Ken Seiling for 33 years.

Earlier this year, Seiling announced he would not be running again, opening the door for a new face to represent the region.

The chair represents the three cities and four townships that make up Waterloo Region, all with diverse needs and economies.

“The region speaks for this area, to other governments, to business, to the world, so whoever is the regional chair will be our spokesperson,” said political scientist Peter Woolstencroft.

More than half of property taxes go to the region, meaning that Waterloo Region residents have a greater stake in the chair position than they may realize.

That money goes to everything from emergency services and public health to transit and main roads.

The candidates for regional chair are as follows:

  • Jay Aissa, a business owner who ran against Ken Seiling in the previous election
  • Jan d’Ailly, a former Waterloo city councillor with a business background
  • Rob Deutschmann, a former mayor of North Dumfries and a lawyer
  • Karen Redman, a former federal and municipal representative and the former CEO of Habitat for Humanity

Issues at polling stations around the region and online were reported and resulted in delayed results for the regional chair position.

For more information about the municipal elections in our region, visit our 2018 Municipal Election Hub.

For more information on the regional chair candidates visit their websites below.

Jay Aissa: https://votejay.ca/

Jan d’Ailly: http://www.dailly.ca/

Rob Deutschmann: https://www.robforchair.ca/

Karen Redman: https://karen-redman.com/

 

Regional Council, Cambridge:

Regional Council, Kitchener:

Regional Council, Waterloo:

 

* denotes incumbents