Looking for a second job?

Mayor Frank Mackintosh is retiring; Ben Cleveland, Bob Handspiker and Sherri Lewis are all running for the position Mackintosh has held for 20 years. Since only one of them will be elected mayor, there will be at least three new faces on town council this fall.

In the municipality of Digby, rumor has it that at least one councilor won’t be re-offering.

Although it’s fairly standard for individuals to test the waters as councilors prior to running for the top spot, this isn’t a requirement. So if you’d like to become a councilor (or a mayor or a warden) here are a few things you should know …

You must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years of age, and you must have lived in the municipality where you are running for at least six months prior to nomination day.

Nomination day—the last day to file papers indicating that you intend to run—is Sept. 9. When you file your papers, you will need to have signatures of at least five supporters in your municipality. (Since the names of each of these people must appear on the list of voters, it’s recommended you have ten signatures.)

In the municipality of Digby, you no longer need to reside in the polling district where you are seeking election.

There are a total of seven council seats in town, and in the Municipality of Digby there are five.

While Digby’s mayor is elected by voters, the deputy mayor is elected by town councilors. The top job pays $20,000; the deputy mayor earns $14,000 and councilors are each paid $14,000.

In the municipality of Digby, councilors determine who will be warden and deputy warden. The warden earns $28,388.20; the deputy warden receives $20,154.90 and the annual pay for each councilor is $18.936.81.

Linda Fraser, the municipality of Digby’s chief administrative officer, emphasizes that the money is, indeed, earned. She says councilors can count on putting in a minimum of 15 hours of work each week.

School Board elections will also be held on October 18. Two individuals from Digby County (currently Donna Tidd and Faye Haley) serve on the tri-county regional school board.