WESTLOCK – The creator of the petition which led to last night's vote on a bylaw which will see the town's Pride crosswalk removed says she is grateful for the support shown in yesterday’s plebiscite and was emotional when asked about the results.
“I have a lot of adrenaline in my system right now. It’s been a lot of work, it’s been a long road,” said Stephanie Bakker. “(It’s) very emotional. I honestly had no idea which way it (the vote) would go.”
Bakker started a petition last August which was signed by more than 10 per cent of the town's population, which forced Town Council to pass first reading of the bylaw and then either adopt it or send it to a public vote.
Ultimately, a total of 1,302 residents voted - 663 voted yes to the bylaw, while 639 voted no.
Bakker had a message for the LGBTQ2S+ community, which includes some of her family members, and those who supported the Vote No campaign.
“To my friends and family and the Pride community, I know this is going to be a hard night for them,” she said. “But despite what town council (was) trying so hard to convince them of, the people that voted for this bylaw, we’re not voting against the Pride community. They are loved, I wish I could tell them that,” she added. “Those that voted for neutrality, I believe did so with a genuine desire to keep our community whole and inclusive.”
When asked how the community will move forward from here, Bakker said that as a community, they have a choice and that individuals make choices every day to be kind to each other and although there were unkind words said online from both sides during the campaign, she noted they have heard from some “very caring people on both sides as well.”
“I think going forward we have a choice in how we choose to respond to this and mayor and council have a choice how they choose to respond to this,” said Bakker, noting that’s what the people decided. “I think it’s up to him … he can choose to disregard the majority of the people he’s suppose to be serving and he can see himself as a public supervisor or he can see himself as a public servant and try to bring this community together at this point and say yes, that’s what the people decided.”
