Acclamation overload? 2 more town councils named without elections

Residents in another two towns in Newfoundland and Labrador won't be heading to the polls for the municipal elections on Sept. 26.

The candidates for town councils in Cartwright and Dover have all been acclaimed just as they have in Branch, Clarenville and in other races across the province.

• Entire town council acclaimed in Branch, and they're all women
• No election needed in Clarenville as mayor, entire council acclaimed

In Cartwright, five council seats were up for grabs, and the same number of people came forward.

"It would have been nice to have an election. It's always a bit of excitement around an election and it's good to see a bit of competition for public office in a small town. But just the same, I'm happy to see five seats full," said Mayor Dwight Lethbridge.

He served as mayor of the previous council and is one of the five people who will sit around the council table for another four years. Lethbridge said the town council had been down to four people for the last year and no one came forward during that time to fill the empty seat, so he's happy there's at least a full slate again.

Unlike other municipalities, there isn't a separate ballot for the mayor's job in Cartwright; it's the councillors who decide who will get that role, which is expected to happen at a meeting later this week.

"You have to be front and centre on the issues,whether they're popular or not I'm willing, and if the council sees fit, I guess I'll probably be sitting here for the next four years," Lethbridge told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning.

There isn't a need for ballot boxes in Dover, either Tony Keats has been acclaimed as mayor, and so have all six councillors.

Dover, located in Bonavista Bay, has a population of about 675, according to the town's website.

Four of the six councillors, along with Keats, served on the previous council.