East Kootenay election results bring new mayors and two seven-vote contests
Preliminary results in the Regional District of East Kootenay included a seven-vote difference in the Electoral Area F director race.
Photo credit: Regional District of East Kootenay
CRANBROOK — Voters across the East Kootenay elected new municipal leaders Saturday, Oct. 17, with preliminary results showing changes in Cranbrook, Kimberley, Fernie and Elkford, while two contests elsewhere in the region were separated by just seven votes.
In Radium Hot Springs, Cris Leonard defeated incumbent mayor Mike Gray by seven votes, 321 to 314, according to the village's official election results. A similarly narrow contest emerged in the Regional District of East Kootenay, where incumbent Area F director Susan Clovechok led Quentin Randall 394 to 387 in preliminary results.
In Cranbrook, Tom Shypitka led the mayoral race with 3,378 votes, compared with 2,171 for Lynnette Wray. The city's preliminary results placed Shaun Penner first in the council election with 3,936 votes, followed by Joe McGowan with 2,885, Robin Goldsbury with 2,663, Bruce Murdoch with 2,561, outgoing mayor Wayne Price with 2,393 and Ron Miles with 2,227. Six council positions were available.
The five leading candidates for School District 5 trustee positions in Cranbrook were Irene Bischler with 2,853 votes, Chris Johns with 2,596, Doug McPhee with 2,539, Allie Kostiuk with 2,526 and Pamela Berry with 2,032.
In Kimberley, Powder Matt Mosteller received 1,927 votes in the mayoral race, succeeding Don McCormick. Grant Farquhar led the council results with 2,034 votes, followed by Sue Cairns with 1,961, Woody Maguire with 1,930, Angela Symes with 1,699, Travis Fooks with 1,697 and Craig Janzen with 1,420.
Kimberley reported that 3,595 ballots were cast by its 6,795 registered electors. The city also corrected an error in its initial school-trustee announcement on Oct. 18. Glenna McClenahan, who received 1,808 votes, was elected alongside Darryl Oakley and Ron McRae. The initial announcement had incorrectly identified Betty Lou Barrett as the third successful candidate.
Fernie's preliminary results identified Harshan Ramadass, a member of the outgoing council, as the successful mayoral candidate. Mayor Nic Milligan did not seek re-election. The six successful council candidates were Kathleen Dolan, Josh Gawryluk, Phil Iddon, Tracey Audia Kelly, Ted Shoesmith and Scott Tibballs. Nicole Heckendorf was also selected as the School District 5 trustee for the Fernie-area seat.
In Elkford, Mandy McGregor led the preliminary mayoral count with 358 votes. Kyle James received 161 votes, Tathlina Lovlin 133 and Lindsey Armitage 91. Jason Meldrum led the council candidates with 625 votes, followed by Dustin Murray with 621, Duncan McDonald with 595, Bert Schalekamp with 507, Len Gostick with 500 and John Baher with 440. Meldrum, McDonald, Schalekamp and Gostick were members of the outgoing council.
Radium Hot Springs has declared its results official. Along with Leonard's seven-vote mayoral victory, the village elected Jessie Blakley with 429 votes, Carey Collin with 361, Jessica Hill with 343 and Dale Shudra with 332 to council. Erin Palashniuk received 317 votes and Christi Ferguson-Huston 273.
In Invermere, incumbent mayor Al Miller was returned by acclamation after no other mayoral candidate came forward. The district held a separate vote for its four council positions.
The Regional District of East Kootenay reported two contested electoral-area director races. In Area E, Nowell Berg led Penny Flegel 309 to 241. In Area F, Clovechok's seven-vote lead over Randall left one of the region's closest contests awaiting the official declaration. Directors in electoral areas A, B, C and G were acclaimed.
The RDEK also administered two school-trustee elections. Alysha Clarke led Randy Reay 193 to 43 in the School District 5 contest covering RDEK Area B. In the School District 6 contest covering RDEK Area F and Canal Flats, Amber Byklum led with 510 votes, followed by Cory Stanbury with 268 and David Dunlop with 267.
In Creston, which is part of the Regional District of Central Kootenay, Denise Dumas led the preliminary mayoral results with 1,231 votes to Neil Farstad's 459. The six leading council candidates were Tanya Wall with 939 votes, Ferd Schmidt with 858, Carolyn Hawton with 856, Megan Holland with 845, Judy Germann with 819 and Norm Eisler with 804.
The RDEK is scheduled to declare its official results Oct. 20. Several municipal election authorities, including Cranbrook, Kimberley and Creston, have identified Oct. 21 as the deadline for their official declarations. Preliminary counts remain subject to determination by the respective chief election officers.
Christina Lake voters have elected Rupert Oldroyd as their new regional district director, while preliminary results in Midway show incumbent Mayor Doug McMynn leading a three-candidate race following the October 17 local elections.