B.C. Municipal Election preliminary results, Northwest, B.C.

In Smithers, John Buikema is the mayor-elect, beating of Robert Judzentis. Incumbent Councillor-elects include Calvin Eliott, Laure Lenoard, Frank Wray, Sam Raven and Genevieve Paterson. Smithers also welcomes Scott Marko to the council, the only non-incumbent, beating out Thomas Camus and Murray Hawse.

In Telkwa, Derek Meerdink is acclaimed Mayor. Incumbent Councillor-elects Lee Ewald, Annette Morgan, will be joined by new comers  Michelle Finch and Grace Francis, beating out Simon Schat and Cathy Frenette.

In Prince Rupert, Herb Pond has been acclaimed, while incumbent councillor-elects Barry Cunningham, Nick Adey, Wade Niesh, and Teri Forster all keep their jobs. Rupert council also welcomes first time councillor-elects James Warburton and Jessica Sallenback to city hall.

With less than a week to go in the BC Municipal election we head to Prince Rupert to hear from candidates for Rupert council and why change is desperately needed in Prince Rupert. Today we speak with Jessica Sallenback about why she threw her hat in the ring. After running the Lester Centre for the Art for several years, Sallenback is ready to help the city reach its full potential. We also speak with Andrea Pollock, a local business owner who sees a lot of financial struggles with the city’s finances and wants to ensure the books are balanced to try and take the burden off taxpayers. And finally, we’ll hear from James Warburton, a long-time Prince Rupertite, Warburton has spent years developing properties and is looking to bring that experience to Rupert council, especially as the city move into the next phase of the BIG Project.

We have a recap of the School District 54 School trustees’ debate. On Sunday 10 school trustee candidates faced off in their first debate, hosted by the Bulkley Valley Teachers Union. Out of the group only one candidate was an incumbent and although most of the evening was cordial, there were a couple of spicy moments. We also had a chance to chat with Cody Lind the BVTU president about why they wanted to host the debate and what teachers are looking for it their trustees.