New council
Judy Sentes, who won the sixth and final spot, is the veteran having served for 10 years uninterrupted.
“I’m very honoured with the win and it’s encouraging that the effort that I make to be involved, to look for what’s best, is being recognized,” she said.
Sentes said she added a new element to her campaign this time — social media — but believes she excels at one-on-one engagement.
“I did campaign hard and I’m always at the market, I attend community functions, and I feel people can approach me.”
Campbell Watt, the other incumbent, finished in second spot, the same position he had when he ran for the first time in 2014 as part of an unofficial youth movement.
“I feel very privileged and honoured to have been reelected,” Watt said. “I’m very flattered and pleased that the public supported my ideas and the way that I went about doing things.”
At 46, Watt is not only the youngest member of council, he’s the only one with a child still in school and the only councillor under the age of 60.
“I’m super excited to be working with so many people with experience. We definitely have a lot of knowledge around the council table,” Watt said.
Sentes shares his excitement about the seven people elected to council.
“We have a balanced council,” she said. “There are incumbents who bring continuity, but you also need new ideas. If you went with an entirely new council, I think things would slow down because it does take awhile.”
The two newcomers, Regehr and Bloomfield, finished third and fourth respectively. Their two campaigns were polar opposites.
Bloomfield purchased print ads, put up a handful of signs and spoke to small groups. Regehr worked with a campaign team and was far more visible, something he admits was awkward for him.
“I’m not that extrovert personality, but I certainly feel comfortable with campaigning and I’ve grown into that over the years. Campaigning is something that is a necessity and it exposed me to a lot of new people in the community who I hadn’t met. I had an excellent campaign team, which really helped, and I wrote several articles for The Herald and that gave me some exposure, letting people know about my own background.”
Bloomfield, who ran for mayor in 2011 and the provincial Green party in 2009, believes many voters remember him from those days.
“You treat nothing as a given. To me, it’s all about as much face-to-face time that you can have with people as possible.”
All six of the winning candidates attended each of the public forums, something they agree is vital. They also responded to written questions from the media and the public.
“Attending the forums and replying to questions is the difference maker,” Watt said. “Lawn signs, that’s the nature of the beast and to be honest, I wish they would eliminate them. I think for some of the fringe candidates who didn’t finish in the thick of things, they needed to attend the forums.” Robinson agrees. “If you don’t show up, it looks like you’re not interested,” she said. “People come out because they want to hear what you have to say and if you’re not there, they will check you off their list.”
Sentes praised the trade-show format, an informal drop-in. With 24 candidates, she wonders if the traditional all-candidates forum is beneficial.