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November 19, 2014
▼ ELECTION 2014
Inside
Baker returned as Lake Country mayor
Successful council candidate comments At-large and ward candidates sum up the election results, Monday morning. ...............................
Mayoral opponent says low voter turnout did not help his cause. KEVIN PARNELL
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Voter turnout Fewer eligible Lake Country voters turned out to cast their ballots in this election than last time. Some glitches were identified in the process, including having only one place to vote in the entire district. ...............................
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Flyers ■ Home Depot ■ Jysk ■ Save On ■ Shoppers ■ Staples
In the race for council positions, incumbent Penny Gambell and former councillor Bill Scarrow topped the polls for the two council-
James Baker says he’s ready to lead Lake Country council for the next four years.
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I THINK I HAVE MADE CONNECTIONS OVER THE PAST NINE YEARS WHERE I AM ABLE TO COLLABORATE WITH HIGHER LEVELS OF GOVERNMENT. WE HAVE HAD CONSIDERABLE SUCCESS IN PARTNERSHIPS. James Baker
Baker was re-elected as Lake Country mayor on Saturday night, winning a closely contested race by 225 votes over businessman Jayson McCarthy. It will be Baker’s fourth term as mayor after he garnered 1,215 votes to McCarthy’s 990. “I’m really, really pleased,” said Baker. “I’m looking forward to the next four years. It will be interesting to see what we can accomplish. “I was nervous coming into election day,” Baker confessed Satur-
I WAS THINKING THERE SEEMED TO BE A LITTLE BIT MORE DESIRE FOR CHANGE IN THE COMMUNITY THAN OBVIOUSLY THERE WAS. Jayson McCarthy
KEVIN PARNELL/LAKE COUNTRY CALENDAR
JAMES BAKER was relaxed and confident election night as voters in Lake Country let him stay in the mayor’s chair by a margin of 225.
day night. “Jayson was a very good candidate. We had similar platforms.” Baker chalked up his success to the political connections he has made over his years as mayor. “I think I have made connections over the past nine years where I am able to collaborate with higher levels of govern-
ment. We have had considerable success in partnerships.” McCarthy, a former councillor who came up short to earn the mayor’s chair for the second straight election, said voter turnout was down from past years and that wasn’t good for his hopes.
“The turnout is significantly lower than three years ago,” McCarthy said after the tally was posted. “That’s disappointing to me and surprising. I was thinking there seemed to be a little bit more desire for change in the community than obviously there was.”
lor-at-large positions in Lake Country. The Winfield election saw Rob Geier get re-elected with 783 votes to challenger Randy Rose who earned 248 votes. In Okanagan Centre, Blair Ireland upset incumbent Lisa Cameron by a 344-282 margin, while in Oyama, Owen Dickie won a second term with 278 votes to challenger Keli Westgate’s 127 votes. Matt Vader is also new on council after being acclaimed in the ward of Carr’s Landing Baker, who has been on council either as a councillor or as mayor, since Lake Country incorporated, says the next four year term will be interesting “When you have
the continuity of council it really helps a lot,” said Baker. “I was sorry to lose a couple incumbents with the retiree ( Jamie McEwan, Barbara Leamont) and one that didn’t get re-elect-
Jayson McCarthy
ed (Lisa Cameron). They served us well while they were here. I’m looking forward to getting on with the plans that we have, getting on with working with senior levels of government to get infrastructure help.” McCarthy, a former councillor and two time mayoral candidate, wouldn’t close the door on running for council or mayor again immediately after the election results. He says it was a disappointing result. “It was disappointing, it was a lot of effort to make the points I tried to make but at the end of the day my life goes on and the community goes on,” he said. For district council results see page A2. newsroom @lakecountrynews.net
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