The community has spoken.
On Oct. 16, 6,642 residents of the MD of Bonnyville cast their ballots, setting the future for MD council.
With 16 candidates all striving for their respective seats, it was a close race in the MD.
It was a tight race in this ward. Josh Crick, Shane Franklin, and Marc Jubinville were all hoping to be named councillor for Ward 1. Jubinville ended up winning with a total of 269 votes in his favour. Crick was just six votes shy with 263, and Franklin ended the day with 120.
“It feels wonderful, and I am excited about taking on a new role with new challenges,” Jubinville said.
He added that the support he received at the polls is a sign that residents believe he is going to work hard in order to get the job done.
“It's going to be all about learning for the first little bit to get comfortable, and creating a good working relationship with the whole new council. I think that's where my emphasis will be.”
In total there were 652 votes cast for this ward.
Darcy Skarsen has claimed the seat for Ward 2, after winning 388 votes.
“I am excited,” Skarsen said. “I'm excited to get right to work, right off the bat here.”
Skarsen wanted to recognized incumbent David Fox's 10-years on council. Fox ended the election with 305 votes in his favour.
After winning over 50 per cent of the votes himself, Skarsen believes residents trust his vision for the MD.
Moving forward with both old and new faces around the table, the new councillor is hoping to start his term by build a relationship with the City of Cold Lake and the Town of Bonnyville.
“We need to get rid of any clashing, any butting heads. We have to make headway together. We are not going to improve the Lakeland area without working together,” he added.
Other items he wants to address are examining the upcoming budget, and combating crime.
“We are going to work hard to get things done, that's for sure.”
The final candidate running for the ward was Doug Ewanowich, who finished the race with 54 votes.
Mike Krywiak sat comfortably watching the evening unfold. He was acclaimed for his third consecutive year.
The race for Ward 4 consisted of two fresh faces. Ed Duchesne and Marcy MacEachern both had their eyes on the seat.
In the end, Duchesne came out on top with 347 votes. MacEachern wasn't far behind with 308. In total, there were 655 votes cast for this position.
“It was a tough race. I am really happy to have won,” Duchesne said, while surrounded by friends and family.
“Now the work begins,” he expressed, adding that by being named councillor for Ward 4, it just shows that the residents believe he is a good fit.
With his focus on the future, Duchesne hopes the MD will start to change their direction.
Four new councillors will be sworn in Oct. 25, a sure-sign that there will be some fresh ideas for the MD, Duchesne noted.
“We have the same budget to work with, but I think we can make some good changes. We can budget for other things, not just roads. We can help other people in other ways, and make this place a little more vibrant and exciting at the same time,” he added.
Three candidates were in the running for this ward with Angela Cook, Silke Skinner, and incumbent Dana Swigart.
Swigart kept his seat on council after winning 361 of the 538 votes.
“I am quite happy that I won by the margins that I did. It shows me that I am doing the right things, and people voted for me,” Swigart said. “It shows that I am going to right thing for the people in the ward. It was a battle. It wasn't always easy to bring ideas forward to council and try to get things done, but I am looking forward to the new council and there are going to be a lot of changes.”
As one of the two returning councillors for the MD, he looks forward to working together to move the MD forward over the next four-years.
One thing he would like to see improved is taxes.
“It wasn't that the MD was increasing taxes, but they were going up because of property values and assessments. We can control that,” he said. “Most of our budget goes toward transportation, utilities, and roads, and we can maybe do a better job.”
One concern he has heard from residents through the MD is the quality and consistency of the work done on roads.
“We can improve, we can do better, and I am looking forward to doing that.”
With a total of 639 votes, Ward 6 had some tough competition. There were six candidates with their eye on the prize, but in the end, Ben Fadeyiw won the race with 210 votes.
“I am looking forward to being a voice for Ward 6,” Fadeyiw expressed.
Only five votes behind Fadeyiw was Tim Ostertag, with Debra Pelechosky ending the day with 94. Paul Gullackson and Del Tolley both finished with 65 votes.
Fadeyiw believes it was his drive towards regional cooperation that landed him the seat.
“That's a big part of it. Over the years, things have been swayed the other way, and to me, that's the biggest thing,” he noted. “That's the top of the list.”
Fadeyiw agreed that with four new councillors at the table, council would just have to “wait and see where everybody stands.”
“I am looking forward to really working with the other leaders in terms of what's going on. I'm quite excited about the whole thing,” Fadeyiw added.
