UPDATE:
Polls are now closed. The Observer will provide updates as counts come in.
ORIGINAL STORY:
Voters across British Columbia head to the polls on Saturday to choose a mayor, council and other leaders in local government.
Polls are open in the City of Quesnel at the following locations until 8 p.m. PT:
Quesnel City Hall at 410 Kinchant Street
Correlieu Secondary School at 850 Anderson Drive
Dragon Lake Elementary School at 2655 Quesnel-Hydraulic Road
Polls are open for Cariboo Regional District residents are the following locations until 8 p.m. PT:
Cariboo Regional District Library Program Room, 101-410 Kinchant Street
Kersley Elementary School, 2899 Arnoldus Road
Ecole Red Bluff Lhtako Elementary, 1533 Maple Drive
Bouchie Lake Elementary School, 2074 Blackwater Road
Parkland Elementary School, 5016 Bjornson Road
Barlow Creek Elementary School, 816 Barkerville Highway
Nazko Valley Elementary School, 9560 Nazko Road
West Fraser Volunteer Fire Department, 243 Jackpine Flats Road
Who is running for mayor?
Quesnel’s mayor has been elected by acclamation, after just one candidate, incumbent mayor Bob Simpson, declared intentions to run.
Simpson’s first term as mayor of Quesnel began in 2014.
He has been a Quesnel resident for more than 30 years and originally moved here to teach high school. He later worked as a consultant to the City and then for Weldwood, before being elected MLA for Cariboo North for two terms, in 2005 and 2009.
READ MORE: Bob Simpson to seek second term as mayor of Quesnel
Who is running for council?
- Born and raised in Quesnel
- Cultural programmer for the Quesnel Tillicum Society Native Friendship Centre for 4.5 years
- Member of Wild Women of Quesnel, which fundraises to provide food hampers and various other essentials to struggling residents
- Sits on the Coalition of Substance Users of the North (CSUN)
- City councillor for two terms
- Works full-time at the BC Liquor Store
- On board of directors for Island Mountain Arts
- Volunteers with Quesnel Kangaroos hockey team
- Born and raised in Quesnel
- Executive director of the Quesnel Tillicum Society
- Local rotarian and school board trustee for the past 16 years
- President of the North Cariboo Métis Association
- Advocate for seniors and former nursing assistant and mental health advocate
- Co-founded the Seniors Advocacy Service about 14 years ago
- Worked with youth as mentor and coach
- Has sat on council for 13 years
- Ran for Mayor of Quesnel in previous elections
- Member of the Rotary Club of Quesnel
- Lifelong member of the Billy Barker Days Society
- Has been a councillor for 10 years
- executive director of the West Quesnel Business Association
- board member with the Business Improvement Areas of British Columbia (BIABC); the past-president of the North Central Local Government Association (NCLGA)
- Elected in September a Union of British Columbia Municipalities (UBCM) director-at-large
- Teacher at Correlieu Secondary School
- Co-owns a local business, Barkerville Fudge & Bumblebee Boutique
- President of the British Columbia Business Educators Association (BCBEA)
- Sits on the Shiraoi Twinning Society
- Local logger and miner
- Volunteer firefighter for 10 years in Topley, B.C.
- Ran heavy equipment as part of the 2017 wildfire response
- Co-owns local business, K-Max
- President of the Quesnel Downtown Association
- Volunteer with Lions Club and president of the Lions Housing Society
- Board member for Community Futures
- Born and raised in Quesnel
- Recently returned to the city
- Was chair of policies on the local electoral district association in Dawson Creek
- Former 15-year paramedic
- Serves on the board of the North Cariboo Métis Association
- Volunteers with the Baden Powell Service Association (BPSA)
Who is running for school board?
David Chapman
- School trustee for four terms
- Elected as the board vice chairperson last year
- Retired after working 31 years for the City of Quesnel
Wendy Clement
- Current school board trustee
- An educator and administrator
- Worked in all levels of education
Tony Goulet
- School trustee for the past 16 years
- Board chair for one year
- Current chairperson for the Northern Interior Branch (NIB)
Gloria Jackson
- School trustee for the past 13 years
- Board chair for the past two years
- Spent two years as a director for the BC School Trustees Association
Julie-Anne Runge
- Current school trustee
- Local small business owner
Roland Sawatsky
- Chaired a team (Friends of Kersley School) which disputed decision to close Kersley elementary
- Small business owner and former registered nurse
Howie Schonke
- Served two terms as school trustee
- Lived in Quesnel all of my life
- Worked with the the school district for 30 years
Cyril Tobin
- Experienced educator
- Three university degrees from three different universities
- School principal for 25 years in Quesnel
Who is running for Cariboo Regional District Area A director?
- Mayor of Port Clements in Haida Gwaii for two terms
- Sat on regional Haida Gwaii boards including on the Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District and the North West Regional Hospital District
- Represented local government on the regional advisory committee for the Northern Development Initiative Trust
- Works with the Nazko First Nation, managing the band’s forestry businesses
- Mayor of Quesnel for six years
- Has been an alternate director for Area A for four years
- Vice Chair of Regions for the College of New Caledonia
- Serves as president of the Quesnel Community Foundation
Who is running for Cariboo Regional District Area B director?
- Volunteer firefighter with the Bouchie Lake Department for 22 years
- Carpenter by trade
- Spent 15 years as an investment advisor in Quesnel
- served on Bouchie Lake’s Advisory Planning Commission (APC) since 2008
- part of the Official Community Planning (OCP) committee for the area in 2008
- Born and raised in Quesnel
- Volunteer firefighter for and later chief of the Ten Mile Volunteer Fire Department
- Served as a commissioner on the Parkland Recreation Commission from 2010-2013
Read about the local referendums and more stories on the municipal election here.
Check out our website and Facebook page for full coverage of the results starting at 8 p.m. PT.