After a couple of recounts since polls closed on Saturday, the City of Rossland has announced its complete preliminary election results.
During the first round of ballot counting, it was discovered that two councillor candidates, John Greene and Tim Thatcher, received 788 votes each, tying for the final spot on Rossland council.
The next step was a judicial recount, but election officials counted one more time before moving on and found that Greene had beat Thatcher by just two votes.
Thatcher was given the chance to request a judicial recount, but declined and the seat went to Greene.
The new councillor will be joining the already announced Aaron Cosbey, Marten Kruysse, Andrew Zwicker, Andrew Morel and Lloyd McLellan around the council table.
Kathy Moore was elected Rossland's next mayor.
The new mayor and council already have a couple of items on the agenda for upcoming council meetings, but the first step, according to Moore, is to get to know their positions within the government.
“With a brand new council, my first priority will be to get everyone comfortable with their new role,” she said. “There is a steep learning curve for any new person coming into the position for the first time – and same for me as a first-time mayor. I want to make sure that everyone gets a solid understanding of the legislation governing local government, as well as a thorough understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing Rossland. We have four years to really make a difference and I look forward to the challenge.”
Moore and the six councillors were voted in with nearly 60 per cent of registered voters making their way to the polls, and says she believes the high turnout is because residents were able to understand how important their single ballot was.
“Perhaps people are finally realizing that their vote counts a lot at the local level and they can really have an impact on issues that effect them personally,” she said, adding that the high voter turnout could have been a mirror of feelings about the out-going municipal government.
“I think that the citizens of Rossland got engaged in our local election because they are frustrated with the current council and the perceived weaknesses in our governance. There has been a lack of meaningful engagement and communication over the last few years, not to mention some unfortunate decisions made by council.”
The official results will be available at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.