Walter Jakeway is elected as Campbell River’s new mayor in a very close race.
Jakeway beat out current councillor Roy Grant by a margin of 39 votes and garnered 37.79 per cent of the votes.
Grant captured 2,702 votes, or 37.25 per cent of the popular vote. Ziggy Stewart finished third with 1,228 votes, or 16.93 per cent and Michel Rabu was fourth with 583 or 8.04 per cent.
Jakeway led throughout the night, as results from all three polling stations, advance polls and the hospital/mail trickled in.
Jakeway had more votes than Grant at all three election day polling stations, but finished behind Grant in advance polls.
Jakeway was pleased with the result but was quick to point out there is work to do to get Campbell River back on its feet.
“It’s good but we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Jakeway said at Still Water Books, his election night headquarters. “We have to pull council together and work as a unit.”
Jakeway said he’s surprised to go from a “nobody” to the figurehead of the city.
“I came out of oblivion,” Jakeway said. “I was a nobody who got in.”
In the race for councillors, all four incumbents were re-elected, but a new face garnered the most votes.
Larry Samson was elected with 4,118 votes. Claire Moglove was returned to council with 3,904 votes as was Mary Storry with 3,753 votes, Andy Adams with 3,581 and Ryan Mennie with 2,672. Ron Kerr, who will also be new to council, received the fifth highest vote total with 2,726 votes.
A total of 7,157, or just 30 per cent, cast a ballot in this year’s election, which is down from 2008 when 9,534 people voted.
Other councillor candidates finished with the following amount of votes:
Jason Price-2,484
Dave Minato-2,016
James Bifano-1,883
Mark Sullivan-1,835
Patricia Gagnon-1,806
Sterling Campbell-1,718
Sean Smith-1,453
Darryn Striga-830
Peter Klobucar-558
Nehemiah Sloat-476
Brian Le Pas-409
Elected school trustees for School District 72:
Barbara Bowbrick (Sayward Valley) -Acclaimed
Susan Wilson (Quadra)-Acclaimed
Joyce McMann-4,284
Michele Babchuk-4,134
Daryl Hagen-3,097
Linda Jay-2,757
Ted Foster-2,687
Elected area directors for Strathcona Regional District:
Electoral Area A (Kyuquot/Nootka-Sayward)-Gerald Whalley 113
Electoral Area C (Discovery Islands-Mainland Inlets)-Jim Abram 791
Electoral Area D (Oyster Bay-Buttle Lake)-Brenda Leigh 634