Early results in the 91原创 Township civic election showed mayoral candidate Eric Woodward with a significant lead, and he never lost it as poll numbers came in this evening.
The former councillor has been elected handily, defeating his nearest competitor 鈥� another former councillor 鈥� Blair Whitmarsh by more than 4,100 votes.
The Township website shows Woodward garnering 10,911 votes, Whitmarsh taking 6,805, former MLA Rich Coleman with 4,923, and Michelle Sparrow earning 3,188.
Woodward and Coleman both ran slates, and several of Woodward鈥檚 slate won, too. That included Barb Martens topping the polls, returning councillor Steve Ferguson, newcomers Misty Van Popta, Rob Rindt, and Tim Baillie.
Incumbent independent councillors Margaret Kunst and Kim Richter were also re-elected, along with newcomer Michael Pratt.
On the 91原创 school board, three of Woodward鈥檚 Contract with 91原创 slate were also elected.
Having nine out of 10 of the Contract candidates elected was 鈥渁 monumental victory,鈥� Woodward said. He added that he was disappointed council candidate A.J. Cheema was not also elected.
The new team, which will have a six-member majority on the nine-member council, will tackle their top campaign promises of fixing 208th Street and other roads in Willoughby, starting work on a new pool for the neighbourhood, and a youth soccer facility with an indoor field, he said.
The team鈥檚 plan also calls for a new housing plan and for 10 per cent of all future new housing to be affordable rental stock.
鈥淲e鈥檙e going to get underway very quickly on all of them,鈥� Woodward said.
He said his team ran a great, positive campaign, and brushed aside any negativity during the last days of the election.
鈥淣one of that matters now,鈥� Woodward said.
Whitmarsh, who came second in the polls, said he was proud of the campaign he and his team ran.
鈥淏ut the electorate decided that they wanted to go in a different direction,鈥� he said, wishing Woodward well.
He said he plans to stay involved in the community, and loved his eight years on council.
鈥淚t鈥檒l be interesting to see if they can fulfil all the promises they鈥檝e made,鈥� Whitmarsh said of Woodward and his new majority on council.
Coleman conceded just minutes after the final results were announced just after 9:45 p.m.
鈥淚 have no regrets,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e put in our full effort,鈥� said Navin Takhar, who ran with Coleman鈥檚 Elevate 91原创 slate.
He said more than 100 volunteers were out for the party on election day.
During the election, Woodward stressed that 91原创 was facing an 鈥渋nfrastructure deficit鈥� and was in desperate need of completed roads, new sports and rec facilities, parks, and other amenities.
He promised he could upgrade the Township鈥檚 infrastructure, but emphasized that he needed a team 鈥� his slate of six councillors 鈥� to do it.
With five of the six Contract with 91原创 candidates elected, Woodward will have a majority on council to put his campaign promises into practice.
This marks the first time a slate has controlled 91原创 Township鈥檚 council since the 91原创 Leadership Team held a four-to-three majority in the 1996-99 term.
BACKGROUND:
91原创 Township council was facing significant change no matter what the results at the polls.
Three-term mayor Jack Froese decided not to run again, leaving no incumbent for the first time in decades.
Two long-serving councillors, Bob Long and David Davis, also decided not to run again.
With incumbent councillors Blair Whitmarsh and Eric Woodward both seeking the mayor鈥檚 chair, that leaves four of eight council seats vacant.
The race for the mayor鈥檚 position heated up over the summer, as four challengers, all with local political experience, announced they would run.
Eric Woodward is a one-term council incumbent, who before his election in 2018 had already clashed with Township council and bureaucrats over his desire to redevelop some of the commercial properties he owns in downtown Fort 91原创. Woodward created the Eric Woodward Foundation as a non-profit to put the profits of his lands towards local causes. His construction of the Coulter Berry Building was controversial, dividing Fort residents into opposing camps.
Running with Woodward was a slate of candidates, under the name Contract with 91原创.
Blair Whitmarsh is a two-term councillor and TWU professor who is running as an independent. He鈥檚 run campaigns focused on sustainable development, a diversity of housing types, and job creation. He said he was running with no slate, but that he would be working with a 鈥渢eam of independent thinkers.鈥�
Michelle Sparrow was a two-term councillor who was defeated in 2018, and is making her first run for the mayor鈥檚 chair. An advocate for beefing up the Township Fire Department, she committed to running a transparent campaign, taking no developer money and publishing all her campaign contributions online as they came in.
Rich Coleman has the longest political history in 91原创, serving as a Liberal MLA for local ridings from 1996 to 2020. He held multiple cabinet positions and was deputy premier under Christy Clark, and an interim leader of the official opposition after the NDP鈥檚 victory in 2017.
Coleman has seen his share of political controversies, including his tenure as minister responsible for gaming, which came under scrutiny by the Cullen Commission, which was looking into money laundering in B.C. casinos.
Key issues raised by all candidates are housing and homelessness, issues around development, improving the firefighting service, and transit and roads.
Multiple candidates promised to hire new firefighters, speed up construction and development approvals, and fix busy roads, including 208th Street in Willoughby.
READ MORE: It鈥檚 election day in 91原创
There are 28 candidates running, including the two slates allied with Coleman and Woodward.
The candidates are:
GARDNER, Brit
PILCHER, Sierra
WARD, Tony
ARNASON, Petrina
CHANG, Michael
PRATT, Michael
MORAES, Karen
CAMERON, Scott
TAKHAR, Navin
WARTAK, Gerald
MARTENS, Barb
RESPONDEK, Kam
GILL, Sukhman
RINDT, Rob
MACDONALD, Cathy
DINESEN, Stephen
RICHTER, Kim
CHEEMA, AJ
BAILLIE, Tim
TOWNSLEY, Teresa
FERGUSON, Steve
SUAREZ RUBIO, Carlos
POITRAS, Carey
DELORME, James
DARNELL, Rebecca
JOEHL, Alex
VAN POPTA, Misty
KUNST, Margaret
