Tomorrow is Wednesday, October 22, 2014, the Manitoba general Election Day. In Manitoba, municipal elections are held every four years. The general Election Day is always the fourth Wednesday in October.
Jacob “Berliner” Kehler was a farmer and a community leader, who immigrated to Canada in 1875, settling in Hochfeld, a small village near Steinbach, MB. When Berliner Kehler married Elizabeth Schultz in April of 1884, they took the unusual step of setting up a house on vacant school lot in the R.M. of Hanover, where there was no village, about a half a mile east of Hochfeld, and by 1891, the growing family moved to a farm at Ebenfeld, today known as Mitchell, MB.
Berliner Kehler saw the importance of investing into his community, into the leadership and direction of the municipality. It was important to Berliner to serve – as a government weed inspector, as well as helping with vaccinating local children against smallpox. Berliner Kehler worked briefly as a teacher and served sometime as a Vorsänger in the Chortitzer Church. One of his commitments to serve others came through his willingness to be a Municipal Councilor, in the Municipality of Hanover.
As it was in his day, the role of the Municipal Council is important. The R.M. of Hanover Council consists of a group of representatives of the area, elected by the residents to meet the municipal needs of the Rural Municipality. Council is directly responsible to manage and provide municipal services and programs to local residents. All council decisions are made by the majority of council. Members of council are expected to take an active role in making decisions that are in the best interests of the community and operating in an open and transparent manner.
While many things have changed since Berliner Kehler was on Council, some things remain consistent – the importance of electing officials to lead the community to growth in an efficient manner, and with integrity. If Berliner Kehler was on the campaign trail today, he would be insistent that you vote for leadership that will fulfill this mandate, and remind you to go vote!