Colin Derko has been declared the newest councillor for the Village of Boyle in the June 20 by-election.
Derko beat out Margaret Gallinger 77 votes to 58. Boyle chief administrative officer Charlie Ashbey said one ballot was rejected.
Derko said he was happy to win and is excited to work with the council that is in place.
“There was a guy that told me that ‘You got to get sworn in,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, after that, I’m just going to get sworn at,’” he said with a laugh. “I think these guys have some good things on the go and I’m going to add some energy, I hope, and some new fresh ideas.”
Derko was away on business the day of the by-election, so he did not have chance to throw a party for his first-ever election campaign and win, but luckily he had his family with him on his trip.
“My wife and I shared a glass of wine and I said, ‘What have I done,’” he said jokingly.
Although this was his first election, Derko said he was not too stressed knowing that Boyle was going to get someone who cared about the village and would work hard for it whoever was elected.
“I think it made it a little easier knowing that I wasn’t going up against somebody that I didn’t want in there,” he said. “Margaret was definitely a worthy opponent to have. I’m glad that she did (run) and I hope that when it comes time again, that people step up. It’s good to see people interested in our town.”
Derko sits on numerous volunteer committees, so he said it was a little strange not being able to jump right in when he wanted to help.
“This one was, ‘OK, I’m ready to start get in there and start working,’ but ‘Oh, first you have to win an election,’” he noted. “I’m excited to get to work. I’m a keep-it-real kind of guy. People are people. Everybody has a job to do and if we all do our job, then it’s going to be fun.”
