More than a year ago, federal politicians asked for your vote. I covered it here and wrote in my introduction the next morning that, “Election nights can be nail-biting or dull as nails. Last night was ... the latter.”
I am happy to say that Saturday’s election was as exciting as one could hope for—Westshore brought the drama, electing four new mayors, and 18 new councillors.
I’m glad to leave campaign reporting behind, and excited to watch what this new batch of local governments do first.
Reporter, The Westshore
LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Langford’s new mayor humbled, excited to bring the change voters have asked for
Langford's Mayor elect Scott Goodmanson. (📸 Zoë Ducklow)
Scott Goodmanson beat out 30-year stalwart Stew Young to become Langford’s new mayor. Neither of them saw it coming.
The best Goodmanson thought he could expect was to not get embarrassed by the incumbent. “I don't want to get waxed,” he says he told his volunteers. A win, in his mind, was to earn about 40% of the vote. “Then I could say we had a good push,” Goodmanson reflected.
He ended up with 53% of the vote on Saturday night, 687 votes ahead of Young.
“I'm excited. Not just excited because I won, but we can make some positive changes in the city.” Voters didn’t just respond to the change Goodmanson offered, but to the entire Langford Now slate. The only incumbent councillor who was re-elected is Lillian Szpak, who increasingly clashed with Young this year over issues about which the new councillors tend to agree with her—like more clear tree protections, and more consultation with neighbours of proposed developments.
Goodmanson is interpreting that almost-full council changeover as a clear message from voters. “That's what I was saying all along: the residents make the choice, they make the decisions. We just give leadership to the staff about how to make those decisions happen. And yeah, the residents spoke,” he said.
His first goal has already been accomplished—increase voter turnout. Langford's increased to 24% this year, up from just 18% in the last municipal election. His second goal is to create a culture within chambers that invites residents to say their piece.
“I want to see people coming into City Hall just to participate, just to be part of it. And not be afraid of being yelled at or shut down.”
Within the office of City Hall, the mayor-elect has a lot of staff members to meet. He plans to approach them the same way he approached voters: “Talk to them, listen to them. What else can you do until you listen to them and talk to them?”
There’s more to come in The Westshore about this historic election result in Langford and the people who came out on top. Is there something you want us to know about why you voted for or against the winners on Saturday? Get in touch.
ELECTION RESULTS
Metchosin’s voter turnout was high, but not that high
Initial results showed a remarkable 88.7% of eligible voters cast a ballot, but curiously only about half of them voted for a mayor. Could it be that so many people were undecided between Kyara Kahakauwilla and Marie-Térèse Little, and didn’t make a choice? No, it couldn’t; the initial reported count was a clerical error that was quickly corrected.
Metchosin has an estimated 4,154 eligible voters, and 1,964 ballots were cast, a 47.3% turnout.
The mixup was a late-night error—counters finished at 1:30am on Sunday. The number of votes for each candidate was correct; the only incorrect sum was the total number of ballots cast. Metchosin’s chief election officer, Kerry Fedosenko, reminded the public that all results are preliminary until the Wednesday deadline when local election officials across BC will declare final results, though no major changes are expected.
Little is Metchosin’s mayor-elect, beating out Kahakauwila by a margin of 82 votes. Their campaign platforms were largely similar, both promising more transparency in council decisions, fewer in-camera meetings, and more consultation. The two have not had a smooth working relationship, especially since a trip Kahakauwila took to Mexico in 2020, against public health advisories. Little also did not have a smooth relationship with Mayor John Ranns, who endorsed Kahakauwila to succeed him. The discord between Ranns and Little became especially apparent when she called the RCMP on him after an angry meeting.
Coun. Sharie Epp was re-elected, and will sit with new councillors Steve Gray, Jay Shukin, and Shelly Donaldson.
No change in Highlands
Highlands was the one municipality with no change. Mayor Ken Williams was acclaimed after no one ran against him, and all six incumbent councillors were re-elected.
Sooke School District's new Board of Education
The school board also had a shakeup, partly because only two incumbent trustees ran—Ravi Parmar and Allison Watson were both re-elected. New board members include Gitxsan children’s book author and retired nurse Trudy Spiller, elected Chief of Scia'new First Nation, Russ Chipps; former vice president of the Sooke school district and financial administrator Cendra Beaton; bookkeeper and longtime PAC member Amanda Dowhy; and former Sooke councillor Ebony Logins.
If you’re unsure as to what a school board trustee really does, we have an answer.
Juan de Fuca’s new area director
The dispersed population in the Juan de Fuca electoral area doesn’t have mayors and councils; just an area director with the Capital Regional District who works with some local committees. The new area director is Al Wickheim, who won over candidates Sandy Sinclair, Derek Bishop, and Shaunna Salsman by a wide margin. Wickheim will take over from Mike Hicks who represented the region for 14 years.
Share this article and view all Westshore results here.
Around the ’Shore
**📚 Colwood author wins Victoria Book prize:**The City of Victoria Butler Book Prize was awarded to Esi Edugyan for her non-fiction book Out of the Sun: On Race and Storytelling. The work examines the relationship between race and art through the lens of literature, film, visual art, and Edugyan’s own experiences.
🏠 Designed for your lifestyle: Centennial Court offers elevated amenities with studio, one- and two-bedroom homes. Move in this winter! Sales start in October, from the low $300s.*
🦀 Five European green crabs were recently found in Esquimalt Lagoon. They devour native species, destroy eelgrass habitat, and can be best identified by the five spines beside each eye. Volunteers from the Esquimalt Lagoon Stewardship Initiative are working with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to monitor for this highly invasive crab. If you think you have seen a European green crab, report it.
🍁 As your Member of Parliament, Alistair MacGregor can assist you with federal agencies, and help explain how he’s bringing Langford and Westshore voices to Ottawa.*
🌳 Meet the Sooke man beautifying neighbourhood streets. [Good Newsletter]
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TOGETHER WITH BEACON WELLNESS
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Community Events
🎥 Honour to Senator Murray Sinclair: The Metchosin Learning Group is hosting a film night, featuring a short documentary about Murray Sinclair, who was a key figure in raising global awareness about the atrocities of Canada’s residential school system. A discussion will follow. All are welcome, no registration required. The Metchosin Learning Group started earlier this fall to learn about truth and reconciliation. Contact dsmith2006@shaw.ca for more details. Oct. 19, 7pm at Metchosin Community House, 4430 Happy Valley Rd.
👻 West Coast Cabaret’s Halloween Danceat the Sooke Community Hall this Saturday. Performances, dancing, Halloween costumes contest, silent auction, spooky selfie photo booth, themed drinks and mocktails, and more. Tickets are $25, available at Stick in the Mud coffee shop and Forbes Pharmacy.
**🎃 Pumpkin Party at Lohbrunner Community Farm,**11am-4pm Saturday and Sunday. Pick a pumpkin and enjoy warm drinks by donation.
⛸ The Juan de Fuca Arena is 50! To celebrate, it's hosting a skating party this Saturday with retro rates—just 50¢ to get in. Come at 2:30pm for cake and stay for the open skate that starts at 3pm.
What’s Offshore?
Esquimalt Lagoon looking towards Washington State, taken on Oct. 17, 2022 (📸 Tom Gierasimczuk)
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Westshore Snaps
Council elect celebrating their win. (📸 Zoë Ducklow)
Coun. Lillian Szpak (centre) has been mentoring councillors-elect Mary Wagner (right) and Colby Harder (in black) throughout their campaign, and came to celebrate with the Langford Now slate Saturday night after the surprising results came in. Szpak is the only councillor to be re-elected.
📸 Snapped a photo you’d like to share? Send it with a caption and don’t forget to add where you live.