Mitch Campsall held on to his seat as mayor of the District of 100 Mile House by a narrow margin in the Nov. 15 local elections.
He received a total of 295 votes at the polls, beating out his competitor, Maureen Pinkney (at 285), by just 10 votes.
The race for District councillor seats saw all four incumbents retaining their seats at the council table.
Leading the pack was Dave Mingo, with 425 votes, the most obtained by any candidate in the election, followed by Ralph Fossum (386) and Bill Hadden (385) and Spence Henderson (307).
The three new councillor candidates, who were unsuccessful in their bid to make it to the council table, were Rita Giesbrecht (231), John McCarvill (176) and Peter Reid (143).
Campsall says he is “very happy” to be re-elected along with the four incumbent councillors.
“We can continue on with getting prepared for the 2018, when the timber supply becomes an issue.”
He adds the “reality” is the mayor and councillors have get on with what they were already doing.
However, Campsall will also be looking into potential changes stemming from what he and others on council heard when canvassing door-to-door during election campaign.
“They were pretty blunt out there … and I was quite happy that they were … because you start to hear exactly how they feel. And, we got that message.”
Maureen Pinkney thanks voters
District of 100 Mile House 2014 mayoral candidate Maureen Pinkney lost the Nov. 15 local election by just 10 votes.
Pinkney said she would have enjoyed being the local community’s representative.
“I would like to congratulate all of the incumbents on their re-election, and I would like to thank all of you who did get to the polls and cast your vote for me.
“Of course, I am very disappointed in the loss. I put my hat into the ring to win, not just to stir the pot. I truly believed that our [council] needed some new energy and ideas, more progressive planning into our future, and just the change that comes with a new person’s experience [when] assets they have are brought to the table.”
As of press time, Pinkney was undecided if she will ask for a recount, but said she is currently investigating that option.
“I truly would have had [the] open door, open meeting, interactive style of governing that we should have.”
