Everett Baker leads Grand Forks mayoral race as two newcomers secure council seats

GRAND FORKS — Mayor Everett Baker is on track to serve another term after defeating challenger Kirk Duff in Grand Forks' October 17 municipal election, according to unofficial results released by the City of Grand Forks.

Baker received 724 votes to Duff's 576, giving the incumbent a 148-vote lead. Four incumbent councillors also secured places among the six leading council candidates, while newcomers Shaun Aquiline and Nicole Best are positioned to join council.

The city reported the unofficial results at 9:45 p.m. on election night. Official results are scheduled to be declared October 21.

A total of 1,328 ballots were cast in the election, which included two candidates for mayor and 10 candidates competing for six council seats.

Aquiline led the council race with 928 votes, finishing ahead of incumbent David Mark, who received 797 votes. Incumbent Rod Zielinski followed with 794, while fellow incumbents Zak Eburne-Stoodley and Neil Krog received 782 and 688 votes, respectively.

Best secured the sixth council position with 596 votes, finishing 70 votes ahead of Cameron O'Dell, who received 526.

The remaining candidates were Christina Abbott with 489 votes, Justin Dinsdale with 262 and Kaja Gjesdal with 165.

If the results are confirmed, the incoming council will consist of Baker, Aquiline, Mark, Zielinski, Eburne-Stoodley, Krog and Best.

Five returning members, two newcomers

The unofficial results would give Grand Forks considerable continuity in its municipal leadership, with Baker and four returning councillors forming five members of the seven-person council.

All four incumbent councillors seeking re-election finished within the six available council positions.

The two changes would come through the election of Aquiline and Best, who would replace outgoing councillors Deborah Lafleur and Christine Thompson. Neither Lafleur nor Thompson was among the candidates seeking a council seat in the October 17 election.

Aquiline received the highest number of votes of any council candidate, finishing 131 votes ahead of Mark, the second-place candidate.

Best's sixth-place finish was the closest contest affecting the composition of council. Her 70-vote lead over O'Dell means she holds the final council position in the unofficial count.

Grand Forks elects its councillors at large, meaning voters choose candidates for six council positions rather than electing representatives from individual neighbourhoods or wards. The six candidates receiving the highest number of votes are elected, subject to the official declaration of results.

Baker secures another term in unofficial count

Baker was first elected mayor in 2022, when he received 621 votes. His unofficial 2026 total of 724 represents an increase of 103 votes over his previous mayoral result.

Duff, who has previously held municipal office, challenged Baker in the two-candidate mayoral contest.

Baker received approximately 56 per cent of the votes recorded for the two mayoral candidates, compared with approximately 44 per cent for Duff. The two candidates received a combined 1,300 votes.

Those figures reflect votes cast for mayor rather than the total number of ballots issued, as some electors may leave a contest blank or submit a ballot that does not contain a valid vote for that office.

The mayoral election determined who will lead council for the next four-year term. The mayor chairs council meetings and serves as the municipality's chief elected official, while decisions on bylaws, municipal spending and other council business are made through council votes.

Ballots cast increase from 2022

The city reported 1,328 ballots cast in the 2026 election, compared with 1,269 recorded in 2022.

That represents an increase of 59 ballots between the two municipal elections.

According to CivicInfo BC's official election statistics, Grand Forks recorded voter turnout of 36.92 per cent in 2022, when 1,269 ballots were cast from an estimated 3,437 eligible electors.

The 2022 turnout was considerably lower than the city's 2018 municipal election, when 1,568 ballots were cast and turnout reached 49.48 per cent.

A directly comparable turnout percentage for 2026 has not yet been established because the city's preliminary results report the number of ballots cast but do not provide an estimated number of eligible electors for this election.

The increase in ballots cast therefore does not establish whether the proportion of eligible voters participating increased or decreased.

Official declaration expected October 21

The City of Grand Forks has scheduled its declaration of official election results for Wednesday, October 21.

Until that declaration is made, the October 17 totals remain unofficial. The published results show no ties affecting the mayoral contest or the allocation of the six council seats.

The city has not announced a recount or published a revised set of results on its election page as of October 19.

The municipal results cover the mayor and councillors elected to Grand Forks city council. School District 51 trustee elections and neighbouring regional district contests are separate elections with their own results and reporting processes.

The city's election information, including the unofficial candidate totals and official declaration schedule, is available through the City of Grand Forks website.

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