South Cariboo voters headed to the polls on Saturday, Oct. 20, to choose a mayor, council, regional directors and school board trustees.
At roughly 11:30 p.m., after hours of ballot counting in the 100 Mile House District council chambers, preliminary results showed Mitch Campsall was re-elected for his fourth term as mayor.
The 100 Mile House District released the final numbers on its website on Tuesday morning.
Campsall beat out candidates Rita Giesbrecht and Glen MacDonald in somewhat of a landslide. He received 410 votes, while Giesbrecht received 180 and MacDonald 17.
“It feels really good … having the support of 100 Mile House makes it a lot easier to move on in what we’re doing,” said Campsall.
“What an honour it is to serve the community and be respected by the community.”
RELATED: VIDEO: Mitch Campsall thanks 100 Mile House voters
Incumbent councillors Ralph Fossum and David Mingo were re-elected with 290 and 381 votes respectively.
“I’m glad to have another four years,” said Mingo. “I’m encouraged that we get a chance to continue forward and continue to move 100 Mile House into the future.”
He called the new council “a diverse mix” and said he’s looking forward to working with his new colleagues.
Newcomers Maureen Pinkney and Chris Pettman will join council for their first terms.
Pinkney, who lost her campaign for mayor in 2014 by a mere 10 votes, received 436 votes, while Pettman received 272.
Pettman said it’ll take some time for the victory to sink in, but that he’s excited to learn from the knowledge and experience of the incumbent coucillors and for the opportunity to bring some new ideas.
“I’m hoping to bring the voice of families in 100 Mile House and the South Cariboo to the table.”
Pettman is currently raising a family himself, and said it’ll be “nice to have that point of view represented on the board.”
Remaining council candidates Nicole Weir, Wally Bremsleven, Leon Chretien, Laura Laing and Cameron McSorley received 251, 249, 129, 110 and 52 votes respectively.
RELATED: VIDEO: 100 Mile House residents turn out to vote
Cariboo Regional District
Willow MacDonald was elected the new director for CRD Area L (Lone Butte, Interlakes), beating out incumbent director Brian Coakley by a mere 29 votes.
“I’m really happy. I’m really looking forward to serving the communities in Area L. I’m really looking forward to engaging and being present and doing lots of great things,” she said in a phone interview.
Dealing with speeders and impaired drivers and meeting road and snow maintenance challenges are some of the issues on MacDonald’s immediate radar.
To the voters she said, “I’m grateful that they showed their support in me. I’m humbled that they would choose me to represent them.”
Al Richmond, the incumbent director for Area G (Lac La Hache-108 Mile Ranch) and Margo Wagner, the incumbent director for Area H (Canim Lake-Forest Grove), were both re-elected by acclamation.
RELATED: Looking back at the 100 Mile House 2014 Municipal Election
Thompson-Nicola Regional District
Sally Watson was re-elected as the director of TNRD Area E with 165 votes, beating out Bill Mackenzie and Ross Tapping.
“Absolutely wonderful,” said Watson on being re-elected.
She said she has already started working on improving communications for emergencies and outside of them.
“I think we could all do much better at communicating, and I’ll be working hard on that. We will also be working on fire protection and working on keeping our citizens safe.”
Watson said that she was a little nervous about the election and whether or not she would retain the seat.
“That’s always in the air. You go into an election as a review of your performance and it is up to the citizens to assess what you have done and what they believe you can do,” she said.
Watson would like to thank her opponents for putting in their names and for allowing democracy to be exercised.
SD27
Mary Forbes defeated Robyn Angus in the race for school district trustee for Zone 2 (Lac la Hache - 70 Mile). She received 125 votes to Angus’ 55 votes, claiming victory by 69.4 per cent.
Linda Martens, the incumbent trustee for Forest Grove, and Willow MacDonald, the incumbent trustee for 100 Mile House, were both re-elected by acclamation.
beth.audet@100milefreepress.net
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