Creston Valley and East Shore residents won’t have to spend much time updating their phone lists — there are only two new faces among the area’s 13 elected officials.
Ron Toyota and five incumbent town councilors were all returned to office in Saturday’s election, while political newcomer Scott Veitch will replace the retired Len Folkman at the council table.
Area B director John Kettle easily survived a challenge to serve for a fourth term on the Regional District of Central Kootenay board of directors. For the past year he has also been chair of the board and the East Kootenay Regional Hospital Board, too.
Three seats on the School District No. 8 (Kootenay Lake) board of education were the most hotly contested races. Creston trustee Melanie Joy survived a strong challenge from lawyer Heather Suttie. Joy has also been the SD8 board chair and chair of the BC Public School Employers’ Association (BCPSEA) for the past year. Joy received 639 votes to Suttie’s 589. Political newcomer Paullette Francoeur received 328 ballots.
In the Creston South Rural area, another newcomer, Rebecca Huscroft, upset two school board veterans by more than doubling the number of votes earned by Annette Hambler-Pruden, who won the second seat. Huscroft’s vote count was 751 and Hambler was named on 338 ballots. Verna Mayers-McKenzie took 326 votes and lost in her attempt at a third term on the board.
Challengers Bob Gollan (277 votes) and Vladimir Certik (203) finished in fourth and fifth place, respectively.
Toyota was re-elected to his second term by taking 60 per cent of the vote, beating former mayor Joe Snopek by a 1,002-676 count.
Judy Gadicke, who topped the polls in her first run for town council in 2008, once again led all candidates, with 1,056 votes. Tanya Ducharme, also competing for a second term, finished second with 996 votes. Gadicke and Ducharme had campaigned as a team with Toyota.
Jerry Schmalz took third place with 851 votes, Veitch had 814 for his fourth-place finish and Wesly Graham, vying for his third term on council, was named on 804 ballots. Joanna Wilson, also seeking a third term, took the final position with 782 votes.
Not successful in Saturday’s election were former councillor Ed Vondracek (630), Rhonda Barter (514), who has also made unsuccessful attempts to earn provincial and federal NDP nominations, Malcolm Ferguson (407), new Creston resident Renee Kyle (401), Ingrid Voigt (328), Justin Lysohirka (265) and Louis Mihaly (107).
“I am very grateful to have the confidence of the people of Creston and I am looking forward to the challenges the next three years will bring,” Toyota said on Monday. “An election campaign provides a great opportunity to hear from people and I will respond to the questions and concerns raised by those I haven’t already contacted.”
Toyota’s campaign team, headed by his daughters, Amy and Denise, called all Creston residences, making notes of any concerns or questions. All have been passed on to Toyota for his information.
“In our last term, town council created a strategic priorities list, which we will continue to follow, adjusting it as needed,” Toyota said. “I want to continue to work on Cook Street realignment to move transport trucks off Canyon Street, and I understand the Ministry of Transportation is nearing completion of a design to improve the intersection at Northwest Boulevard and Pine Street. Enhanced rural policing and economic development are also top priorities. …
“I think we have a strong and diverse council that will work hard to represent the people of Creston. I will be meeting with each council member in the coming days to discuss their interests and priorities.”
Kettle said the coming years will be particularly challenging, as the local economy continues to be eroded by the influence of a strong Canadian dollar.
“I’m honoured, frankly,” he said of his victory. “The strong support I’ve received from voters is very rewarding and I’ll continue to do the best job I can — that’s all I’ve ever promised. Now it’s time to get back to work.”
The Area B director said that he hopes to be returned as chair of the RDCK, but has his sights focused on getting fire protection for Arrow Creek and Kitchener.
“We hope to get to referendum in June so that the people have their say,” he said.
A huge challenge in the near future is the replacement of the remainder of the 80-year-old Arrow Creek water main line.
“We’ve got to work with the provincial government and find a way to get this done,” he said. “It simply can’t be fixed — it needs to be replaced.”
Kettle also identified rural policing as an issue. Policing and high-speed Internet service are two keys for people in outlying areas, he said.
A difficult economy, made worse by the strong Canadian dollar that encourages Creston Valley residents to shop and buy gas in the United States, will force changes to government, he said.
“We are going to need to do a core services review and really question our ability to add new services,” he said. “Our obligation to the taxpayer is to make sure we get the best bang for their buck. And that could mean cuts and cutbacks in the next few years.”
Joy, who survived a strong fight put up by Creston area teachers, said she was disappointed at some of the “meanness” in the campaign, but heartened by support from the community.
Having to deal with the death of her father in mid-campaign took some of the fun out of meeting with people who share her passion for children and education, but she said she enjoyed seeing people at the candidate forums.
“And it was really exciting to hear all the chatter and communication on Facebook, to know there is another avenue for people to share ideas,” she said.
While some school boards have new teacher-endorsed candidates in their makeup, Joy said it was too soon to see if that has any effect around the province. There is likely only one change at BCPSEA, though she said, “I don’t expect that the government will change the mandate it has given us.”
At the local board level, she said that fiscal responsibility will continue to be a challenge — “and it always will be” — and that “there is a need for the entire community to get involved in a discussion about education and where it should be taking us.”
“I feel like I have had community support as a board trustee and I will continue to work to earn that support,” she said.