The City of Prince Rupert has six elected Councillors and one elected Mayor. Our current Mayor and Council was elected in October of 2018. They each serve 4 year terms.
Get to know our Mayor and Councillors below:
Mayor Herb Pond
Mayor Herb Pond began his second foray into local government in 2022, after a 14-year sabbatical. He previously served as mayor through the tumultuous years of 2002 to 2008 and was first elected to Prince Rupert City Council in 1996. In the worst economic collapse on record, his team focused on driving down costs and attracting new employment, culminating in the opening of Fairview Container terminal in 2007. Herb credits partnerships as the key to the community’s recovery - partnerships with labour, industry, First Nations, other communities, and senior governments. Inspired by the achievements of ensuing Councils, Herb re-entered political life to “help the community catch up to the successes of industry.”
Herb has actively volunteered since arriving in the community in 1988. He currently chairs four boards involved in seniors’ housing, student bursaries, community wellness and early childhood education. He has also served on provincial and national boards. Herb has broad industry experience in diverse sectors - forestry, transportation, tourism, energy - and has owned several small businesses.
He and his wife Sandy, an administrator with School District 52, raised four children in Prince Rupert and are currently exploring the joys of long-distance grandparenting.
Email: mayor@princerupert.ca
Councillor Barry Cunningham
Councilor Barry Cunningham has lived in Prince Rupert for 37 years, working first as a flooring contractor and now in environmental response for the Canadian Coast Guard.
Barry’s volunteer activities have included the Prince Rupert Labour Council, the Unemployed Action Centre, Executive member of Prince Rupert Minor Hockey, and minor soccer coach.
Barry’s focus on Council is promoting economic development with a focus on equality, fairness, labour issues and environmental commitments from industry.
Barry is considered an avid listener who endeavours to hear all the facts before addressing an issue. He resides in Prince Rupert with his wife, enjoying the company of his 3 children and 5 grandchildren.
Councillor Teri Forster
Councillor Teri Forster is currently in her first term as a City Councillor in Prince Rupert. She works as a nurse in the community, and is currently the elected representative for Nurses in the North West for the BC Nurses Union. She is nearing completion of a Masters through Royal Roads University, and is an alumni of the Governor General of Canada's Leadership program.
Teri is an active volunteer with multiple animal welfare and rescue agencies, as well as a mentor with at risk and marginalized youth. She has helped to organize and plan many social justice, sustainability, and other health related actions and also participates in pride events, Kidney Walks and more.
She is married, uses she/her pronouns, and identifies as a person with a disability, as she has rheumatoid arthritis and at times struggles to walk and perform daily activities unassisted. On Council, she is a member of the City’s Reconciliation Committee, and will work to advocate for social justice and equitable access to services for our beautiful City.
Email: teri.forster@princerupert.ca
Councillor Wade Niesh
Councillor Wade Niesh has lived in Prince Rupert since the age of 1. Currently he is a sole proprietor operating his own building contractor enterprise. He has worked in other sectors in the community including the airport, bus transportation, and retail.
Wade strives to apply his strong work ethic to Council.
He encourages conversation with the community to enable him to make wise, common sense decisions to move the community toward a brighter, open for business, future. By focusing on economic prosperity, he believes the City can build a better community for local citizens and newcomers alike.
Email: wade.niesh@princerupert.ca
Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa
Councillor Gurvinder Randhawa and his family, including his three children, have been living in Prince Rupert for over 25 years. He has a Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Education in India. After arriving in Prince Rupert, Gurvinder also attended Northwest Community College (now Coast Mountain College) for a few years to continue his education.
In India, Gurvinder worked as an auditor with the Accountant General. He is currently self employed as an owner-operator of a driving school as well as a local taxi. He is an active member of the recreation community, and has coached minor soccer for many years. He has served on the Board of Directors for Tourism Prince Rupert and also served as a board member of the Northwest Community College (now Coast Mountain College).
As a Councillor, Gurvinder advocates for training and employment opportunities for residents, so that there is as much local economic benefit as possible from industry. Gurvinder also advocates for policy to attract new economic opportunities and encourage growth in existing businesses. Additionally, he is concerned with the renewal of Prince Rupert’s aging infrastructure.
Councillor Nick Adey
Born in Leicester England, Nick moved to Victoria in 1967, where he attended school and university. He first came to Prince Rupert in 1979 as a summer student, and worked at the old grain elevator on the waterfront. After graduating from UVic with a BA in History, and a teaching certificate, he took his first teaching position as a secondary teacher in Kitkatla in 1983. He transferred to Prince Rupert in 1985, where he taught for 32 years at Port Edward, Westview, PRSS, and CHSS. He was a Vice-Principal at both Westview and PRSS for 4 years before returning to the classroom in 1995. He has been an active staff representative in the PRDTU. He served for 2 years on the Library Board, for 2 years on the Golf Course Executive, and coached community soccer and basketball. He is also a guitarist, and has played in local groups for over 30 years as well as teaching music.
Nick retired from teaching in 2017, and is serving on City Council for the first time. His approach to serving on Council can be encapsulated by the phrase “Listen, Learn, Collaborate, Act”. As a Councillor, he hopes to focus on economic diversification, affordability, environmental sustainability, and quality of life issues. He hopes to build on the successes of the previous Council, while responding effectively to new issues as they arise.
Email: nick.adey@princerupert.ca
Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven
Councillor Reid Skelton-Morven was born and raised here in Prince Rupert, with family roots of Tsimshian & Nisga'a heritage in the villages of Metlakatla & Gitlaxt'aamiks (New Aiyansh) BC. Reid is the Co-Founder & Founder of two businesses & a social enterprise here in Northern BC, and his passion for entrepreneurship & economic development has led to a wide variety of different positions; from facilitating business planning workshops with Futurpreneur Canada, serving as a Public Relations Officer for the Prince Rupert Toastmasters, contributing as a director of the Prince Rupert & District Chamber of Commerce, to volunteering at the Charles Hays Secondary School (CHSS) with young & aspiring entrepreneurs in the entrepreneurship 11&12 classes.
Reid holds executive certificates in entrepreneurship, social media strategies & web design, both from the Peter B. Gustavson School of Business, at the University of Victoria. In past positions Reid has served as a student constable with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), which he took part in proactive community policing initiatives here in Prince Rupert, and in Coastal First Nations Communities. Reid also served in a variety of different roles including food and beverage as a bartender, gaming security as a gaming security officer, and industrial marine first aid as an offshore medic.
In his spare time you can find Reid spending time with family and friends, taking his two twin step-daughters out to the various beautiful parks & trails in town, volunteering his time with youth & aspiring entrepreneurs, or serving as an master of ceremonies in various community events such as National Aboriginal Day.
Reid's focus for his first term in office is made up a few different strategic priorities, which encompasses a brighter & sustainable economic future, as well as rectifying the infrastructure challenges we face as a community.
Council History
Prince Rupert’s City Council has an interesting and complex history since the incorporation of the City in 1910 – including one of the longest serving Mayors in Canada, our first female Mayor in 1943, and a 9 year bankruptcy during the Depression era.