In the Oct. 21 election, which saw a record number of voters, Helen Kelleher-Empey secured the last seat on council by a margin of one vote.
Holding strong behind the former general manager of the Chamber of Commerce was Bob Covey, with 478 votes. Although he was encouraged by many to request a recount, Covey declined and allowed the numbers to stand uncontested.
鈥淚 feel like this is the way it was meant to go,鈥� he said in an interview Tuesday. 鈥淚 feel I can rest easy knowing I gave it a good shot and I have a good support for my candidacy.
鈥淚t was an awesome race, and it鈥檚 good to have a couple women on council.鈥�
Joining Kelleher-Empey is incumbent Dwain Wacko (711), Brian Nesbitt, who served on council from 2004鈥�07 (597), incumbent Rico Damota (560), Vonna Arsenault (512) and incumbent Gilbert Wall (505).
And at the helm yet again is Richard Ireland鈥攖he only mayor Jasper has ever known.
With a total of 1,247 votes, Ireland won by a margin of nearly 10-to-1 over Cloud Byrd, who finished with 130 votes. Karen Fontaine garnered 57.
All three candidates for mayor watched the results come in at the Jasper Activity Centre, along with a number of candidates for council and members of the public.
Following the last update, Ireland shook the hands of Byrd and Fontaine and shared some smiles and hugs with his wife and supporters.
鈥淚t鈥檚 humbling and gratifying to feel you have the trust and support of the community you want to serve,鈥� he said the next day, after the results had sunk in.
Ireland said he is also pleased with the elected council, who he will serve with for the next four years.
鈥淚鈥檓 very happy with the make up of the council, but it could have been made up differently and I still would have been confident.
鈥淭he real issue is that it鈥檚 the council that gives confidence to the people who elected it.鈥�
Voter turnout in Monday鈥檚 election, which had 20 candidates for council and three for mayor, was up seven percentage points over the 2010 election, coming in at 43 per cent, with 1,486 ballots cast.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really over the moon at the turnout,鈥� said Beryl Cahill, Jasper鈥檚 returning officer. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 never been heard of before.鈥�
In 2010, there was a turnout of 36 per cent, with 1,256 voters marking their ballots.
While the polls were open Monday, a few people were even turned away, because they weren鈥檛 eligible voters, said Cahill, noting that in general those people hadn鈥檛 lived in Alberta for six consecutive months before the election.
There were also 10 rejected ballots each for council and mayor. A rejected ballot is one that is indistinct or has too many candidates selected.
The newly-elected council will meet for the first time Tuesday, Oct. 29 for the swearing in and an organizational meeting at the Lobstick Lodge.
That will be the first-ever council meeting for Kelleher-Empey and Arsenault, while the other councillors have all served before.
That meeting will determine who will be deputy mayor and the length of time each councillor will serve in that position over the course of the four-year term. That evening, council will also decide the schedule for a year鈥檚 worth of council meetings.
If the schedule remains the same鈥攖he first and third Tuesday of each month鈥攖he first regular meeting of council will be Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m.
In the race for school board trustee, incumbent Betsy DeClercq was reelected with 571 votes, more than double the number of votes for Gerry Lettner, who finished with 232.
Nicole Veerman
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