Electors in Ward 3 will be heading to the polls next month to decide the latest Rural Municipality of Portage la Prairie councillor.

A shortlist of candidates was released earlier this week of three possible options to fill the position recently vacated by long-time councillor Terry Simpson. Portage Online sat down with each candidate to discuss their foray into municipal politics.

t live in the area over the years through classroom presentations."

Rud was part of the startup team for the AFM's Compass Residential Youth Program, was on the board of directors for the Tupper Street Family Resource Centre, and Child and Family Services of Central Manitoba, and owned a bed and breakfast for over ten years in the community. Rud is also an active member of the Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Coalition. He says he's invested in this election because he both lives and plays in Ward 3.

"Both of our properties are impacted by the decisions that are made at the R.M. A big part of it is having some say in that," says Rud. "There's an awful lot of exciting things that are starting to happen in the R.M, and just in the Portage area right now. Things are hopping more than they have been in in the almost 50 years that I've lived here."

Rud adds he's excited to see the community band together on instances like the Delta Beach Association and the progress made. He says he feels he has a leg up on the bureaucratic process of the council after serving on various boards throughout his life.

"Council is an important call in helping guide the direction of the community, and that rising, in turn, drives everybody's overall quality of life," he says. "Just in terms of the atmosphere, the feeling people have, the optimism that people have, and the hope that people have, I think is contagious."