The municipal elections held across Alberta Oct. 16 saw some new faces win seats in the Athabasca and Boyle area, while some old hands will be hanging up their hats.
Residents of the Town of Athabasca voted to wipe the slate clean in the 2017 municipal election Oct. 16.
Colleen Powell will serve as mayor, more than doubling the runner up Roger Morrill ’s ballots.
No councillors from the previous term will serve as elected officials in the upcoming term, as only new ones were voted in.
Michael Arychuk, Robert Balay, Tannia Cherniwchan, Ida Edwards, David Pacholok and John Traynor were voted to have a seat at the table.
After hearing the results of the polling - which took four hours to count - Powell said she wanted to thank all of those that contributed to her campaign.
“I ’m really delighted. I want to thank all the voters that supported me. ”
The ballot summary is as follows:
For mayor
Laurie Bonell: 56
Roger Morrill: 222
Colleen Powell: 474
Robert Woito:115
For council
Michael Arychuk: 419
Robert Balay: 641
Dan Bonell: 126
Tannia Cherniwchan: 535
Ida Edwards: 398
Neil Galus: 327
Shelly Gurba: 186
Heather Kariel: 230
David Pacholuk: 494
Joanne Peckham: 61
Steven Schafer: 212
John Traynor: 598
Aspen View Public Schools' election saw two incumbents keep their seats in Ward 2, while a new face won Ward 5. ;
Anne Karczmarczyk and ;Dennis MacNeil won seats in Ward 2, while ;Thomas Mykytiuk won Ward 5. ;
Nancy Sand was acclaimed as Ward 1 trustee, Candyce Nikipelo was acclaimed for Ward 3, April Bauer was acclaimed for Ward 4, and Donna Cherniwchan was acclaimed for Ward 6.
The vote breakdown was:
Ward 2
Monique Fehr: 649 votes
Anne Karczmarczyk: 787 votes
Dennis MacNeil: 832 votes
Ward 5
Elohne Chizawsky: 369 votes
Thomas Mykytiuk: 483 votes
Athabasca County's new council will include Dwayne Rawson, Christine Bilsky, Kevin Haines, Penny Stewart, Larry Armfelt and Warren Griffin.
The vote breakdown was:
Division 1
Allen Balay: 85
Dwayne Rawson: 217
Division 4
Christine Bilsky: 161
Douglas Slatnik: 148
Division 5
Mike Cottrell: 119
Kevin Haines: 216
Division 6
Jack Dowhaluk: 118
Penny Stewart:125
Division 8
Larry Armfelt: 165
Gloria Bury: 136
Division 9
Warren Griffin: 164
Harold Krawec:119
Three seats had already been acclaimed for Athabasca County, including Division 2 (Dennis Willcott), Division 3 (Doris Splane), and Division 7 (Travais Johnson).
Mike Antal, Colin Derko, Pat Ferguson, Shelby Kiteley and Barbara Smith won seats on council, while Sam Assaf lost his.
The vote count was as follows:
Mike Antal: 165
Sam Assaf: 107
Colin Derko: 199
Pat Ferguson: 144
Shelby Kiteley: 183
Barbara Smith: 162
The Village of Boyle's chief administrative officer Charlie Ashbey served as the returning officer for the election. He said the day went well, with a fairly steady stream of people.
“In addition, I haven't been here all day, but when I was I kind of do a little fact-finding and ask people, and I've had some input from people and some questions, ” he said. “It's a productive day. ”
He also said election day is just that - one day. During the rest of the four-year term, anyone can speak to council members, even business owners who do not live in the village.
“Voting is just one day out of four years, ” he said. “If you just think that that one day is your opportunity to voice yourself, well, you're wrong. ”
The Town of Athabasca and Aspen View Public Schools have not yet released their numbers. The Athabasca Advocate will update this article as results come in.
