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Challenger Roxanne Carr edged mayoral incumbent Linda Osinchuk out of her seat on Monday, Oct. 21 by winning the Strathcona County municipal election by the closet margin in the province.
The votes came down to 12,583 for Carr, with 12,137 for Osinchuk in the final tally (50 per cent to 49 per cent).
Carr, who served two terms as the Ward 2 councillor, challenged the first-term mayor.
Ward 1
Amid threats of a lawsuit against a competing candidate and another candidate’s charges of wasteful taxpayer spending by the incumbent, Vic Bidzinski will retain his seat on council for his sixth term in office, dating back to the mid-1990s (including two unsuccessful mayoral bids).
Bidzinski won 46 per cent of the vote with 1,819 ballots cast in his favour.
“I want to thank the people of Ward 1 for electing me,” he said. “I’m very happy with the confidence that they gave me.”
Runner up Ben Proulx received 29 per cent of the vote (1,147 votes), while Murray Hutchinson was third with 24 per cent of the vote (958 votes).
Ward 2
Four candidates announced their hopes to become councillor of Ward 2 after incumbent Carr made her run for mayor official.
Dave Anderson won the ward with 43 per cent of the vote (1,759 votes).
Nicole Van Kuppeveld (29 per cent, 1,180 votes) came in second, while Ryan Osterberg (21 per cent, 860 votes) came in third and Dan Carter (six per cent, 249 votes) placed fourth.
“I’m humbled. That’s all I can say,” Anderson said. “I love this community and I worked hard and the community rewarded me. The hard work has just begun, so I look forward to servicing the residents of Sherwood Park for the next four years and hopefully into the future.”
Ward 3
Brian Botterill won a second term on council with 49 per cent of the vote (1,719), while Don Jaffray came in second (29 per cent, 1,017 votes) and Bryan Mortensen came in third (20 per cent, 709 votes).
“I’m excited to work with my new council,” Botterill said.
“It’s always good to get different viewpoints onto council. Any time you can shake things up, you have four new sets of eyes looking at things.”
Ward 4
Vacated by retiring Wlodarczak, acquaintances Carla Howatt and Lynne Kaiser sought his chair, while Albert’s Family Restaurant owner Joseph Akle also threw his hat in the ring.
Howatt, the outspoken council critic, who has live tweeted just about every council meeting for a few years, won the seat with 59 per cent of the vote (1,578).
Joseph Akle came in second with 642 votes (24 per cent), while Kaiser came in third with 425 votes (16 per cent).
“It feels very surreal, to be honest with you,” Howatt said. “There is a great sense of relief. I am pleased, humbled beyond belief, thrilled and a little overwhelmed. I am dying to get at it.... I started my campaign with the intention of acting like I was getting in right from the start, so I would have plans in place to hit the ground running. I’m ready to go.”
Ward 5
Incumbent Clinton Alexander will not get his chance to complete a full term on council after losing his re-election bid.
Paul Smith received 1,140 votes (50 per cent) compared to 1,119 (49 per cent) for Alexander.
Alexander won the Ward 5 by-election last year to replace Jacquie Fenske after she was elected MLA of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville.
“I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” Smith said. “Half the nephews and the neighbours that are here tonight are saying ‘Do you know what you did to yourself?’ ” he joked.
First up, he said he wants to address traffic problems in Ardrossan.
Ward 6
Challenged by Garett Blackwell and Colin Reid, incumbent Linton Delainey came out ahead of the pack with 1,477 votes (63 per cent).
Reid came in second with 522 votes (22 per cent), while Blackwell received 334 votes (14 per cent).
This will be Delainey’s second term on council after he unseated Alan Dunn in the 2010 municipal election.
Ward 7
Incumbent Bonnie Riddell will see a second term, as she bested Terrell Fletcher with 936 votes (50 per cent) to 907 votes (49 per cent).
Ward 8
The most controversial ward leading into the election was also the ward with the biggest voter separation between candidates.
The seat will be represented by council newcomer Fiona Beland-Quest, the wife of Sherwood Park-Strathcona MLA Dave Quest.
Beland-Quest defeated incumbent Jason Gariepy with 2,766 votes (69 per cent) to 1,192 votes (30 per cent).
“This feels fabulous, absolutely fabulous,” Beland-Quest said. “Especially after six weeks of knocking on all 4,400 doors in Ward 8 with a great volunteer.... It absolutely feels great that it was a decisive victory.”
Gariepy gained national attention in September after he told council, the police and media that he had become the target of an alleged extortion plot to discourage him from running for re-election after packages of explicit content and nude photos of himself that he had sent to someone else were delivered to the mayor’s office and Gariepy’s wife, Monica.
Gariepy decided to run for a third term on council, but his wife’s support during a round of media interviews in September wasn’t enough for voters.
The votes came down to 12,583 for Carr, with 12,137 for Osinchuk in the final tally (50 per cent to 49 per cent).
Carr, who served two terms as the Ward 2 councillor, challenged the first-term mayor.
Ward 1
Amid threats of a lawsuit against a competing candidate and another candidate’s charges of wasteful taxpayer spending by the incumbent, Vic Bidzinski will retain his seat on council for his sixth term in office, dating back to the mid-1990s (including two unsuccessful mayoral bids).
Bidzinski won 46 per cent of the vote with 1,819 ballots cast in his favour.
“I want to thank the people of Ward 1 for electing me,” he said. “I’m very happy with the confidence that they gave me.”
Runner up Ben Proulx received 29 per cent of the vote (1,147 votes), while Murray Hutchinson was third with 24 per cent of the vote (958 votes).
Ward 2
Four candidates announced their hopes to become councillor of Ward 2 after incumbent Carr made her run for mayor official.
Dave Anderson won the ward with 43 per cent of the vote (1,759 votes).
Nicole Van Kuppeveld (29 per cent, 1,180 votes) came in second, while Ryan Osterberg (21 per cent, 860 votes) came in third and Dan Carter (six per cent, 249 votes) placed fourth.
“I’m humbled. That’s all I can say,” Anderson said. “I love this community and I worked hard and the community rewarded me. The hard work has just begun, so I look forward to servicing the residents of Sherwood Park for the next four years and hopefully into the future.”
Ward 3
Brian Botterill won a second term on council with 49 per cent of the vote (1,719), while Don Jaffray came in second (29 per cent, 1,017 votes) and Bryan Mortensen came in third (20 per cent, 709 votes).
“I’m excited to work with my new council,” Botterill said.
“It’s always good to get different viewpoints onto council. Any time you can shake things up, you have four new sets of eyes looking at things.”
Ward 4
Vacated by retiring Wlodarczak, acquaintances Carla Howatt and Lynne Kaiser sought his chair, while Albert’s Family Restaurant owner Joseph Akle also threw his hat in the ring.
Howatt, the outspoken council critic, who has live tweeted just about every council meeting for a few years, won the seat with 59 per cent of the vote (1,578).
Joseph Akle came in second with 642 votes (24 per cent), while Kaiser came in third with 425 votes (16 per cent).
“It feels very surreal, to be honest with you,” Howatt said. “There is a great sense of relief. I am pleased, humbled beyond belief, thrilled and a little overwhelmed. I am dying to get at it.... I started my campaign with the intention of acting like I was getting in right from the start, so I would have plans in place to hit the ground running. I’m ready to go.”
Ward 5
Incumbent Clinton Alexander will not get his chance to complete a full term on council after losing his re-election bid.
Paul Smith received 1,140 votes (50 per cent) compared to 1,119 (49 per cent) for Alexander.
Alexander won the Ward 5 by-election last year to replace Jacquie Fenske after she was elected MLA of Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville.
“I’m not sure it’s sunk in yet,” Smith said. “Half the nephews and the neighbours that are here tonight are saying ‘Do you know what you did to yourself?’ ” he joked.
First up, he said he wants to address traffic problems in Ardrossan.
Ward 6
Challenged by Garett Blackwell and Colin Reid, incumbent Linton Delainey came out ahead of the pack with 1,477 votes (63 per cent).
Reid came in second with 522 votes (22 per cent), while Blackwell received 334 votes (14 per cent).
This will be Delainey’s second term on council after he unseated Alan Dunn in the 2010 municipal election.
Ward 7
Incumbent Bonnie Riddell will see a second term, as she bested Terrell Fletcher with 936 votes (50 per cent) to 907 votes (49 per cent).
Ward 8
The most controversial ward leading into the election was also the ward with the biggest voter separation between candidates.
The seat will be represented by council newcomer Fiona Beland-Quest, the wife of Sherwood Park-Strathcona MLA Dave Quest.
Beland-Quest defeated incumbent Jason Gariepy with 2,766 votes (69 per cent) to 1,192 votes (30 per cent).
“This feels fabulous, absolutely fabulous,” Beland-Quest said. “Especially after six weeks of knocking on all 4,400 doors in Ward 8 with a great volunteer.... It absolutely feels great that it was a decisive victory.”
Gariepy gained national attention in September after he told council, the police and media that he had become the target of an alleged extortion plot to discourage him from running for re-election after packages of explicit content and nude photos of himself that he had sent to someone else were delivered to the mayor’s office and Gariepy’s wife, Monica.
Gariepy decided to run for a third term on council, but his wife’s support during a round of media interviews in September wasn’t enough for voters.
