WESTLOCK — The Town of Westlock has a full council once again, after more than 1,200 residents came out to vote for a new mayor and one new councillor in a byelection Jan. 10.
Mayor-elect Jon Kramer, who was sworn-in on Mon. Jan. 15, prior to the committee of the whole meeting at 6:30 p.m., and councillor David Truckey, who was sworn in during a short ceremony Friday morning, Jan. 12, were chosen by 1,282 voters who braved the bitter cold to cast their ballots at the Westlock and District Community Hall. The results remain unofficial until Sun. Jan. 14 at 12 p.m. noon.
“There was a higher voter turnout than we had anticipated. When the institutional vote was complete, we added a fourth voting station to help move the line through quicker,” said CAO Simone Wiley, noting the numbers could have been due to the candidate’s “great job of bringing awareness of the byelection to the community.”
“It’s also a possibility that some people associated the election with the recent controversial issue of the petition/flagpole crosswalk bylaw,” she added.
There were issues reported with the lineups throughout the day, including some who had to wait outside in the cold, Wiley did note that the town took steps to make room for the large number of voters waiting in line, as soon as possible.
“I did receive a call from one man regarding the wait time but that was the only complaint received,” explained Wiley. “As soon as we were able, the large room in the hall was opened up to accommodate the volume of people.”
The ballots were counted by hand, which took two and half hours “with no issues” and there were eight staff counting and two people overseeing the count.
Several residents also noted the long wait time and long lineups to vote but were happy to cast their ballots for their chosen candidates. One of them was Florence Merchant, a 24-year resident of Westlock.
“It’s amazing. I’ve never seen this many people show up. I am just in awe,” said Merchant of the turnout, noting the importance of voting in the byelection. “You make a difference. If you don’t vote, you don’t have a choice. It’s about choice,” she added.
Merchant said town roads and utility bills were two important issues for her, as a resident and as a senior.
“They have a franchise fee on the utility bills and they get a part of that,” she said. “It’s really hard for seniors as it is, but when you’re paying 75 per cent franchise fees and all the other fees that goes on your utility bills, it’s really quite a bit. I’m paying taxes already and I pay for garbage disposal and everything else so they shouldn’t have that.”
Another long-time resident was Mike Chiernyk, who said it was his duty to vote in the byelection and noted the new flagpole and crosswalk bylaw as an issue that mattered to him. He was happy to see so many residents out to vote.
“It’s a very good turnout,” said Chiernyk.
