Seven incumbents will be returning to Rocky View County (RVC) council as a result of the Oct. 21 municipal election.
“It’s pretty much the exact same council we’ve had for the last three years,” said re-elected Division 3 Councillor Margaret Bahcheli after the unofficial results went live Oct. 21.
Bahcheli, who represents Elbow Valley, received 704 votes over her opponent Cameron Wallace who received 481.
“I felt there was a fairly healthy margin in my division. But it was a very close election right across the board. Obviously, there was a movement afoot for change and a lot of divisions came very, very close to that change,” Bahcehli added.
In Division 7, which includes Balzac and Madden, 12-year incumbent Lois Habberfield topped candidate Stirling Vance by 25 votes. Habberfield received 355 votes.
Vance said he was disappointed by the results, but was “grateful for the opportunity to get out and talk to so many people and get to know the real issues in the division.”
“I’m looking forward to seeing what the council can do. I have high expectations for the people that were elected and I believe they can live up to them,” Vance added.
Division 4, Langdon and Indus, also had a close race. Incumbent and former reeve Rolly Ashdown received the second highest overall votes in the County with 734 votes, up 37 votes from candidate Gerard Lucyshyn. In the 2010 election, Ashdown received the highest overall votes with 832 votes.
Lucyshyn said he thinks the close race across the County “sends a clear message to incumbents that the status quo is not going to be enough in the next term.”
He added he filed for a recount because the error margin “was so low,” but said his request was formally declined based on legislation process.
According to County Communications Manager Grant Kaiser, after a review, it was determined that there were not enough ballots in question in Division 4 to change the outcome of the election, and there were no administrative or technical errors in the count for the division.
So a recount would not have changed the results, he added.
Lucyshyn said he is deciding whether he will file for a judicial review, and if the review will be “worthwhile and be positive for the future.”
Veteran councillors Earl Solberg and Greg Boehlke were re-elected in Divisions 5 and 6 with 448 votes and 350 votes respectively.
“I’m honoured that the people in my division have voted me in for four more years and I’m excited to get going and move RVC ahead,” said Boehlke, whose opponent, John McMurray, received 192 votes.
Division 8 incumbent, Al Sacuta, received the highest overall votes in the election.
Up one vote from the 2010 election, Sacuta received 739 votes. Division 8, Bearspaw, had the highest overall voter turnout with 1,375 constituents casting their vote between the advance polls - that were open in five locations between Oct. 4 and Oct. 19 - and Election Day on Oct. 21.
Incumbent Liz Breakey succeeded in Division 1 with 525 votes over Sunil Mattu with 316 votes. She said she looks forward to continue working on her platform, which is to implement flood mitigation measures, improve water and wastewater servicing and continue working towards “responsible fiscal management throughout the County.”
Two new faces will join council chambers, Jerry Arshinoff beat out Cindy Turner with 564 votes. The former councillor, Kim Magnuson, did not run for re-election.
“My only promise to people when I was campaigning is that I will do the very best I can (on council). Overall, if I didn’t think I could be effective, I wouldn’t have stood for council,” said Arshinoff.
“I’m never optimistic but I’m never pessimistic. I like to think I’m realistic,” he said about “solving all the problems that face (his) division … such as concerns about flooding, traffic and unwanted development.”
New Division 9 councillor Bruce Kendall succeeded over his two opponents Jill Cairns and Norman Kent with 387 votes.
Former councillor and Deputy Reeve Paul McLean announced he would not be seeking re-election after serving four terms with RVC council.
Kendall said he was grateful to all the residents who voted for him, but “was a little disappointed that the turnout wasn’t higher.”
In Division 9, 886 people voted.
“I look forward to the next four years on council. I think that this council is capable of agreeing on 90 per cent of the issues, and I hope that on the 10 per cent that we don’t, we can accept the fact that we’re not always going to agree and still be respectful of one another,” he added.
Overall voter turnout was higher than the 2007 and 2010 elections. In the previous election, 7,769 out of the 25,534 eligible voters participated. This year, figures were up with a total of 8,913 eligible votes recorded.
Nona Housenga, legislative manager with RVC, said all the candidates participated in two training sessions on Oct. 24 and 25, and will have a third session, which is scheduled for Nov. 8.
“We try to make (the sessions) as valuable and practical as possible to help get the councillors ready for the upcoming term,” said Housenga, adding the sessions include discussing the roles and responsibilities of a councillor, an introduction to legislation in relation to the Municipal Government Act and procedures in relation to Robert’s Rules of Order, which is standard procedure.
At the organizational meeting on Oct. 29, councillors will take the oath and vote to appoint the reeve and deputy reeve. Council will also appoint members to various committees of council, as well as set council dates for 2014.
According to RVC, as of Jan. 1, 2012, councillors’ base salary is $40,358 plus a $19,878 travel and general expense allowance. The reeve’s total package is $81,370 and the deputy reeve following with $64,781. Council also receives a benefits package.
