Residents of the District of Logan Lake headed to the polls on Saturday, October 15, to elect a new council, and to cast a vote for Mayor for the first time since 2008. Newly re-elected Mayor Robin Smith sought and secured the confidence of voters for another four year mandate, facing a challenger for the first time since becoming Mayor in 2011. Smith won over rival candidate Jacqueline Newman with a convincing 71.5 percent of the vote. 

Three of four incumbent Councillors seeking reelection were successful in their bids, with Councillors Peter Martell, Marion Bell, and Garry Youd securing another four years in office. They will be joined by political newbies Lawrence Hart, Chris Candy, and Jim McNeely to form Logan Lake’s new city council. Mayor Smith says the campaign was a chance to engage voters and narrow down what the Mayor and Council’s priorities should be moving forward.

“When you have to go through the process of actually having a bit of a campaign to run, I think that you have an opportunity to also speak to the people and connect with them. I definitely welcome the competition, it’s never a bad thing,” said Smith.

“We heard a lot through the election that housing is clearly on everyone’s mind, mainly affordable housing and senior accessibility. We heard a lot about youth and what sort of facilities we have available for them. We’re always having to advocate for health and emergency services, that’s part of what we do on a regular basis.” 

Incumbent Mayor Smith defeated rival Jacqueline Newman by 259 votes, garnering 425 votes to Newman’s 166. On Council, Peter Martell was elected with 416 votes, Marion Bell with 407, Lawrence Hart with 379, Chris Candy with 351, Gary Youd with 348, and Jim McNeely nabbing the last spot with 327 votes. Kristina Froment and incumbent Allan Smith did not make the cut, earning 316 and 232 votes, respectively.

The District of Logan Lake’s Mayor and Council meet twice monthly at the District office, and meetings are open to the public. Smith said that she and the new council are excited to get to work on the issues that matter most to Logan Lake residents.

“I’m really looking forward to sitting down with the new council, we have three returning members and three new members. We’ll be going through the strategic planning process with them and flushing out some of the ideas that they may have, and getting moving on a path to success,” added Smith.

“We’ve got some really good coverage at our table, and I’m looking forward to seeing what we can do for Logan Lake.” 

For full results of Logan Lake’s election, visit https://loganlake.ca/news-releases/preliminary-election-results-2022-district-of-logan-lake/.