More than 35 people have put their names forward for mayor, council, or school trustee ahead of the upcoming general local elections, which will take place on Oct. 17.

Candidates won’t be official until declared by the city’s chief election officer on Sept. 11, but many have already announced their intention to run.

Three candidates have announced for mayor, including current mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, current councillor Mike O’Reilly, and former councillor Nelly Dever.

The remainder of the current council, including Bill Sarai, Nancy Bepple, Dale Bass, Kelly Hall, Stephen Karpuk, Katie Neustaeter, and Margot Middleton have all indicated they will be running again.

Incumbents will face a slew of newcomers, with 13 new council candidates announced as of Chronicle press time.

They include union representative Brian Andrews, businessman and former RCMP auxiliary Christopher Mitra, healthcare worker Cindy Sonne, former council and two-time B.C. Conservative candidate Dennis Giesbrecht, pulp mill worker Doug Ronnquist, retired contractor Joe Mauro, advocate Kathrine Blair-Wunderlich, meme creator Nevin Webster, former B.C. Green Party candidate Randy Sunderman, tire shop manager Rob Bertrand, former Canada Post worker Troy Loewen, advocate Ian Head, and support worker Lyndsay McDonald.

School trustee candidates running for the Kamloops-Thompson Board of Education will include at least six incumbents from the nine-seat body, and likely more will follow before the deadline.

Five seats on the school board will be elected for Kamloops, while the rest will represent other areas, including Clearwater, Barriere, Chase, Sun Peaks and Logan Lake.

Those who have officially announced their intention to run include Jodhbir Kang and Cole Hickson, each first elected in 2022.

John O’Fee, Diane Jules, Kathleen Karpuk, and Heather Grieve have indicated to other media their intention to run again but had not made public announcements as of Chronicle press time.

It is not yet clear if Rhonda Kershaw or Shelley Sim will run again.

The campaign period will begin Sept. 19 and general voting day is Oct. 17. Nomination packages will be available on the City of Kamloops website until the Sept. 11 nomination deadline.

To be eligible to vote, you must be a Canadian citizen, be at least 18 years old, have lived in B.C. for at least six months, and not be disqualified from voting by law.

Advance voting will be available at two locations: Heritage House in Riverside Park at 100 Lorne St. and the McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre lounge at 1665 Island Pkwy. It will be available on Oct. 7, Oct. 10 and Oct. 14 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The City of Kamloops says details on how to cast a mail-in ballot will be announced on Sept. 8.