Fortin still mayor by luck of the draw
Judge pulls incumbent’s name to break tie following recount
Peachland Mayor Cindy Fortin will serve another four years in office after she was declared the winner Monday of the town’s mayoral race nine days after voting ended.
A judicial recount confirmed Fortin and top challenger Harry Gough had each won 804 votes. As specified in the town’s bylaws, the winner’s name was then chosen from a box by provincial court Judge Ellen Burdett. It was an unusual and tensionfilled end to the Oct. 20 election.
After the recount confirmed the tie, Burdett had chief election officer Polly Palmer shake a green box containing two pieces of paper with Gough’s and Fortin’s names written on them.
After Palmer opened the box, Burdett looked away, reached in and quickly pulled out one of the papers.
When Fortin’s name was read aloud, she gasped and brought both hands to her face. Gough was the first to speak, offering Fortin congratulations as the pair shook hands. “Sorry, Harry,” Fortin said. “No, that’s all right, it’s fine,” Gough responded.
Asked by reporters moments after the draw how she was feeling, Fortin said: “You’ll have to ask me once my heart stops fluttering.
“I’m glad this is over,” Fortin said. “I want to work on getting this community back together and mending some of the divisions in this town. I’m ready to get back to work,” she said, adding with a laugh: “Can I start now?
“I’m just so glad my name came out of there. Maybe I’ll go buy a lottery ticket or maybe that was my luck for today, I don’t know,” Fortin said. “All I know is, I’m not a big drinker, but I need a glass of wine badly if anyone has any.”
For his part, Gough, who was declared the winner on election night by one vote before the first recount produced the tie, was gracious after losing the draw.
“I’m disappointed I didn’t win, obviously, but, you know, the sky’s not falling,” Gough said. “Cindy guided the town for the four previous years and it’s still a beautiful little town. So I’m sure she’ll do a great job for the next four years.”
Gough had earlier expressed concerns about the way the ballot boxes were handled after election night, saying he didn’t believe they were sealed as required.
But on Monday he said he would not file a complaint with the B.C. Supreme Court alleging any irregularities in the counting process.
“Certainly not,” he said. “I’m not going to waste anybody’s time on that.”
“I’m sure we’re in capable hands with the council we’ve got,” Gough said.
Fortin will begin her second term as mayor after the new council is sworn in early next month. Gough, 63, said he had no plans to run for mayor again in four years’ time.
The judicial recount began at 10 a.m., inside Peachland’s town council chambers, and was concluded at 2:30 p.m. with confirmation of the tie.
The candidates and their representatives could inspect each ballot as they were counted, and neither side offered any challenges as the process confirmed the tie at 804 votes for both Gough and Fortin.
As in most municipalities, ballots were counted in Peachland on election night using electronic tabulators.
During the first recount two days later, it emerged that a ballot cast for Fortin had gone into the counting box but had not been recorded by the tabulator, producing the tie.
I want to work on getting this community back together and mending some of the divisions in this town. Cindy Fortin