Three new mayors and a host of new councillor faces for Trail, Rossland, Warfield and Fruitvale, briefly sums up results from the municipal election held Saturday.
Trail mayor-elect Colleen Jones unseated Lisa Pasin, mayor from 2018 to 2022, by 232 votes.
Jones, a Trail councillor from 2018 to present, ran on the platform “New leadership for a better Trail.”
“It’s important to me to connect with everyone, at every level,” Jones said. “I want to hear the voices of the people of my city so we can work together toward positive change. I have a vision for a safe, healthy, and respectful community.”
The only incumbent of three to survive and remain on council for another four years is Paul Butler, incumbent councillor, garnering 1,009 votes. The other five councillors — all new to elected politics in Trail — comfortably won their seats with Bev Benson receiving the most votes, 1,681 followed by Terry Martin 1,542.
After Rossland Mayor Kathy Moore chose to not run again, Golden City electors voted in Andy Morel as their new mayor with almost 65 per cent of the vote. Morel was a Rossland councillor for the preceding eight years.
“It’s going to take a little while to get use to, but I guess I’m ready for it,” Morel told the Rossland News post-election night. “I honestly thought it could go either way.”
Morel has been a staunch advocate for seniors’ housing and daycare spaces, and a supporter of the Firesmart and Green Link Trail programs. Tops on his to do list is to get citizen input and work with consultants to develop a Recreation Master Plan. He supports the roll out of the curbside organics pickup and composting programs, the sewage treatment plant upgrades, and looks to refine the asset management plan to ensure grant funding for future city property and utilities infrastructure upgrades, like the construction of a downtown public washroom.
Rossland saw a 52 per cent voter turnout, as 1,627 of 3,127 estimated eligible voters cast a ballot, compared to 36.9 per cent voter turnout in Trail, 41 per cent in Warfield, 62 per cent in Montrose and 26 per cent in Fruitvale.
“I am very thankful for the support, and the people that called and said how can we help?” added Morel. “And my partner Eileen who took on the role of campaign manager and worked hard to support me. I’m just so lucky and so blessed.”
Further down the hill in Warfield is new mayor-elect Frank Marino, comfortably winning by garnering almost 77 per cent of the vote. This is Marino’s first foray into elected politics.
“First of all, I want to thank the residents of Warfield for having the confidence in me to represent them as mayor. This is a humbling experience, and I will try my best to make them proud of what we do as a council and as a village,” Marino told the Trail Times Monday morning.
“I also want to congratulate all the candidates for stepping forward and putting their names on the ballet. This is one of the most important acts of being in a democracy, something we don’t always appreciate. Well done!”
I’m looking forward to working with the new council as we move Warfield forward, Marino continued.
“We have a good mix of people, with lots of talent and experience, and I’m confident we will function well as a team. I also look forward to working with the staff and volunteers, they are vital to the effective running of the village.
“My priority for Warfield is to solve our water supply issue. This issue has been on the books since 2005, so I want to see this solved in the next 4 years. We have an infrastructure committee working on this file, with talented people to help guide us through this. My second priority is to work with our staff to develop a long term infrastructure plan. As we all know, our infrastructure in all our communities is aging, so a plan for dealing with infrastructure capital projects is vital.
“Keeping the residents of Warfield informed and up to date on any plans, decisions, or developments will be a key component of our communications plan. The residents have a right to know and have easy access to this information. I welcome any comments or questions Warfield residents have as we move into this next term for council.”
There was only one mayoral election in the Beaver Valley as Steve Morissette remains Mayor of Fruitvale for the next four years by acclamation. There was a shakeup in his council with the election of three first-time councillors.
Montrose, however, remains unchanged. Mike Walsh was re-elected as mayor as were the four incumbent councillors.
All election results are on Page 2 of Tuesday’s Trail Times.