Martin Harder has been elected Mayor of Winkler by acclamation. He's served the city in the leadership role for the past 12 years.

In that time he's seen a 50 percent population growth, from just over 8,000 in 2006 to 13,000 today, and seen Winkler become the fourth largest city in Manitoba based on assessed city property value behind Winnipeg, Brandon and Steinbach. During his tenure, the city budget has also doubled from just over $8 million to $16 million.

He says returning for a fourth term means maintaining momentum on a number of long-term projects including the Winkler Arena expansion and Waste Water Treatment Facility, "to make sure it continues to progress and we get the job done, there isn't going to be any break... there's no interruption."

Meanwhile, there are nine people running for six city council seats, including incumbents Michael Grenier, Marvin Plett, Henry Siemens, Don Fehr and Andrew Froese. The challengers are Jerry Friesen, Karina Bueckert, Don Cruickshank and Zahid Zehri.

However, Harder is encouraged by the mix of returning councillors and new faces. "To make a wholesale change would be very difficult... but there's plenty of choice. We know for sure there will be at least one new councillor, or there could be two or three."

Harder also serves on the AMM board for Central District and chairs the Pembina Valley Reeves and Mayors (PVRAM) organization.

A rendering of the new arena expansion