By Frank Peebles
Special to the Observer
On the fourth attempt in his lifetime, Ron Paull rose to the top of the mayoral polls.
Paull, who was a council member in the previous mandate at city hall, took a chance on unseating incumbent mayor Bob Simpson. He kept his voice at the table Saturday night with a 1,179 to 969 electoral victory.
Other mayoral hopefuls David Schile and Brian Waters got 86 and 50 votes respectively.
(All results are unofficial pending Elections BC confirmation on Oct. 19)
“What I just saw was the voters deciding the only change they wanted was one leader,” said Paull amidst a clamour of cheers and well-wishers following the announcement of results.
Paull noted that all incumbents on the council ticket retained their seat.
“There’s only one newbie, and that is Debra McKelvie. She fills my vacancy and I got moved to mayor, so it’s one out and one in.”
McKelvie’s 1,158 votes were enough to edge her into a council position where she and Paull will be joined by previous members (in descending order of vote numbers) Scott Elliott (1,451), Mitch Vik (1,293), Laurey-Anne Roodenburg (1,215), Tony Goulet (1,189) and Martin Runge (992).
The remaining candidates included Chad Stump (960), Michael Duperron (831), Troy Schonke (548), Joe Lowndes (385), Suzannah Paller-Meir (383) and Michael Stobart (330).
“I’ve got a huge challenge on my plate, along with council. Now it’ll be our council, not the mayor’s council,” said Paull.
He knocked on an estimated 800 doors during his old-school brand of campaigning. The feedback he received on doorsteps led him to believe he was going to prevail in the vote. Yet there were still times of stress and discouragement. It was, after all, the fourth time he’d been on the mayor’s ticket. Never had he won that position before.
“I really am so thankful for my great campaign team, particularly my family, and especially my wonderful wife Pat who really picked me up those times I was feeling down,” said Paull. “When it comes right down to it, I wouldn’t be here without Pat.”
There were about 7,821 eligible voters in Quesnel, for this election.
Original post
Longtime Quesnel city councillor Ron Paull will be the city’s new mayor, according to preliminary results.
Paull garnered 51.1 per cent of the vote with 1,179 votes while Bob Simpson received 969 votes.
David Schile received 86 votes while Brian Waters got 50.
Six were elected for city council:
Scott Elliott received 1,451 votes, Mitch VIK garnered 1,293 votes, Laurey-Anne Roodenburg received 1,215, Tony Goulet received 1,189, Debra McKelvie received 1,158 and Martin Runge won 992.
More to come.
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