An Essex town councillor has announced his intentions to seek the nomination for the Progressive Conservatives in the riding of Essex.
Chris Vander Doelan has let the riding association know, he plans to seek the nomination in hopes of becoming the PC candidate in Essex for the 2022 provincial election.
Vander Doelan is a retired Windsor Star columnist and currently sits as one of the ward three councillors in Essex. He says he's been asked to seek the nomination on and off for the last 15-years.
"I seriously considered it two years ago before I was elected to town council but Chris Lewis had the nomination locked up and as we saw he did a terrific job at it so I did not seek the nomination," says Vander Doelan.
He says seeking the nomination won't impact his current role on Essex council.
"This is a natural progression of the political hierarchy, start off at the lower levels in a school board, being appointed to a board, run for council and generally the more successful politicians start off at the council level and move their way up," says Vander Doelan.
He says he's been surprised with how much he's enjoyed his time so far on Essex council since being elected nearly two years ago.
"It's been a lot more fun then I thought it was going to be and that help cement my decision to try and move up one level because this is a terrific calling," says Vander Doelan. "I'm enjoying it, I think I'm pretty good at it and I'm really looking forward to the election."
Last month, former Amherstburg Deputy Mayor Anthony Leardi announced his intentions via a Facebook post to seek the nomination for the PCs in Essex.
Current Conservative MP Chris Lewis was the PC candidate in the 2018 provincial election. He lost to the incumbent, the NDP's Taras Natyshak.