Marathon mayor plans to seek re-election
By Mike Stimpson, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Source: Thunder Bay Source
Rick Dumas says he’s ready for another Marathon run.
Dumas, who is in the last year of his fifth term as mayor of the north shore town, told Dougall Media in a recent interview that his name will almost certainly be on the ballot in the 2026 municipal elections.
“I’m not ready to hang it up,” he said. “I’m still passionate about my community. I’m still passionate about the region.”
The Marathon native said he feels 95 per cent certain he will seek a sixth term, “unless something pops up in my life that changes that. But I think I’m ready to go for another term.”
Greenstone’s Jamie McPherson, Nipigon’s Suzanne Kukko and Terrace Bay’s Paul Malashewski also confirmed they intend to run for re-election as mayors of their municipalities.
Ontario municipal and school board elections will be held on Oct. 26.
Dumas served as a town councillor from 1991 to 1997 and 2000 to 2006. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Marathon in 1997.
First elected mayor in 2006, he was acclaimed to new terms in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. He is former president of the Thunder Bay District Municipal League and current president of the Northwestern Ontario Municipal Association.
Dumas ran as a Progressive Conservative for the Thunder Bay-Superior North seat in the provincial legislature last year and placed second behind NDP incumbent Lise Vaugeois.
McPherson, who was acclaimed mayor in Greenstone’s 2022 election, told Dougall Media he’d like to “see through things that we’ve gotten started in the last four years” and will seek another mandate.
“At this moment, my intention is to run again,” Kukko said Friday from Nipigon.
“Of course, (election time) is far away and … you just never know what could happen.”
Malashewski, elected in 2022, also confirmed in a recent interview that he intends to seek a second term as the top elected official in Terrace Bay.
Kevin Mullins, the mayor of Schreiber, told Newswatch he will decide whether to run again in the coming weeks.
Red Rock Mayor Darquise Robinson said she, too, hasn’t made a decision yet about running in the fall.
“For the remainder of this term,” she added, “I am committed to continuing the work that has been entrusted to me and to ending the term strong — showing up, staying engaged, and working in the best interests of the community.”
