UPDATE:
Wednesday afternoon’s mayoral vote recount showed an even smaller margin than Monday night’s count, with Parrish Tung returned to the seat he lost to Lorne Young in the 2017 municipal election by a single vote.
Tung now has a total of 233 votes to his credit, while opponent Terri Hampson’s final count was 232.
These figures are still not official, with the official vote count for the municipality to be announced on Friday, Oct. 22.
Original story below
ELK POINT - It was a very long evening of counting for the Town of Elk Point Returning Officer Lynn Proskiw and her crew, with the results finally announced just before 11:30 p.m., and their job isn’t over yet.
With just a few votes separating the two mayoral candidates, there has been a request for a recount, which is anticipated to take place Wednesday afternoon.
Parrish Tung, who served 13 years as mayor prior to the 2017 election, received just four votes more than Terri Hampson, who just completed her first term as councillor. Tung received 235 votes to Hampson’s 231.
Before the recount was requested, Tung was quick to extend his appreciation to the voters, saying, “Thank you to all residents who exercised their democratic rights to vote,” adding to his supporters, “I am honoured to have your trust.”
Hampson, speaking earlier on election day, was impressed with the number of councillor candidates on the ballot, and said she “would like to thank all those who put their name forward in this election, it is not an easy decision to make, and I commend you all. I want to thank the previous council and former Mayor Young for their dedication for the last four years. I would be remiss if I didn’t also thank administration, which takes council’s ideas and plans and implements them into action.”
Whichever candidate becomes the new mayor will have two incumbents and two new councillors to work with for the coming four years. Incumbent Tim Smereka led the vote count with 283 votes, followed by newcomers Jason Boorse with 267 and Wanda Cochrane with 242, followed by incumbent Dwayne Yaremkevich with 209.
Incumbent Debra McQuinn, with 166 votes, first time candidate Olivia Wilkins with 151 votes and former councillor Bernice Capjack with 141 votes were unsuccessful in gaining a seat on council.
