MULGRAVE - A confident musical performer on stages across the Maritimes for nearly two decades, Krista Luddington had to give her first crack at municipal politics considerable thought and changed her mind several times before filing her nomination papers.

But only hours after committing to run for a seat on Mulgrave Town Council last week, Luddington and her three fellow council candidates were acclaimed to the town's four municipal council seats, since no other town residents filed their nomination papers before the September 8 deadline for those running in the October 17 municipal elections.

Luddington, 30, is originally from Dundee, Richmond County but moved to Mulgrave with her husband Jay just over four years ago. She debated running in the 2016 municipal elections but felt she was still "too new to the community" to throw her hat in the ring.

Since that time, the Luddingtons have enjoyed contributing to several community events and organizations, including the Mulgrave and Area Revitalization Association (MARA), a group designed to reinvigorate the former Mulgrave Memorial Education Centre building since its ceased to be a public school in 2017.

Speaking to TELILE 24/7 host Adam Cooke one day after clinching her council seat, Luddington confirmed that the development of the former school building will be a key focus in her first-ever council term. She is also hoping to see the development of more tourism and recreation activities such as the Mulgrave Marina Market, and pledged to continue working with the town's Recreation Director, Heather Brennan, on activities for residents of all ages. 

The veteran fiddler, guitarist, singer and songwriter has two albums to her credit, the 2006 solo release Aftermath and the first duo album for herself and her husband, released under their official duo act name Eastbound. While she feels these abilities will help her in terms of collaborating with her fellow town councilors and whoever emerges from a two-man mayoral race, Luddington is confident that her involvement in such organizations as the Strait Area Chamber of Commerce, Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) Strait Area Campus, and 101.5 The Hawk Radio - where she works as a DJ and an advertising executive - will help her foster a true spirit of teamwork inside and outside Mulgrave Town Council.