Retired businessman Doug Eisenhut would like Osoyoos residents to know he is not running for town council, and definitely not on a platform of promoting cannabis.

The confusion started when a friend of Eisenhut’s, who was trying to convince him to run, placed an ad in the Osoyoos Times on June 13 saying, “Doug for Mayor – Make Osoyoos Great Again.”

Another Doug – Doug Pederson – known as “Stone Dan,” said people saw the first ad and kept asking if it was for him because he ran for mayor in the 2014 election. As he was planning to run again, he decided to start his own advertising early, also using the slogan, “Doug for Mayor.”

Pederson submitted nomination papers this week to run against incumbent Sue McKortoff as mayor.

Pederson, a cannabis aficionado, is running on a platform to make Osoyoos the home of the “Pot Hall of Fame.”

He believes the impending legalization of recreational cannabis on Oct. 17 could be a huge economic boost for the area, although he says that the illegal market is already big business here.

Pederson often says that marijuana makes people smart and education makes them stupid.

McKortoff, his only opponent for the mayoralty as of Friday afternoon, is a retired teacher.

Eisenhut admits he considered running, but decided not to, at least this time.

“Everybody comes to me saying, ‘Are you running this ad?’” he said. “If I wanted votes, I’d be losing 500 to 1,000 votes every time (the ad) runs.”

He wants to set the record straight that he’s not running for council and isn’t running the ads.

“Especially with cannabis part of the ad, it makes me look like a fool,” he said.

Pederson said if there were a poll taken now, he believes he would score much higher than McKortoff, so to speak.

Pederson, 70, has run in numerous past elections over the years, usually placing dead last. In the 2014 election, McKortoff received 1,285 votes, while Pederson got 54.

He began his political career in 1993, when he ran as an independent in the federal riding of Yellowhead, Alberta, and painted his head yellow. He finished last.

In the most recent federal and provincial elections, he talked about running, but wasn’t able to obtain enough signatures to get his name on the ballot.

To run municipally, only two signatures are required, compared to 100 to run federally in most ridings.

RICHARD McGUIRE

Osoyoos Times