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Town incumbents sweep

With the dust settling on the Oct. 16 Municipal Election, the Town of Westlock’s new councillors are reflecting on their campaigns and figuring out the municipality’s priorities for the next four years.
Randy Wold will be the sole new faceon the Town of Westlock council for the coming term as all five incumbents were re-elected and mayor Ralph Lergier was acclaimed.
Randy Wold will be the sole new faceon the Town of Westlock council for the coming term as all five incumbents were re-elected and mayor Ralph Lergier was acclaimed.

With the dust settling on the Oct. 16 Municipal Election, the Town of Westlock’s new councillors are reflecting on their campaigns and figuring out the municipality’s priorities for the next four years.

All six incumbents were re-elected with Curtis Snell leading the way with 812 votes. John Shoemaker was next at 767, followed by rookie candidate Randy Wold at 764.

Murtaza Jamaly finished with 720 votes, while David Truckey netted 642 and Clem Fagnan garnered 551. Kelvin Epp was the odd man out, finishing with 519 votes.

Following election night the group said the next term will focus on regional collaboration, improving drainage infrastructure and encouraging economic development. Several noted they were in contact with newly-elected Westlock County councillors in the hopes of improving the relationship between the two municipalities.

“I’m looking forward to the next four years,” said Snell. “We’ve got a good team together. The continuity between councils will be good.”

Wold, who finished third overall in the vote, says he’s ready to get to work.

“I’m excited,” said Wold. “I’m not quite settled in yet. I think the key to our success is to bring in more commercial businesses that will help keep the town alive.”

Truckey said he would have liked a bigger voter turnout then 26 per cent, though he noted that the lack of a mayoral race probably accounted for it.

“I’m glad to see the incumbents back on council and I think we’ll work very well with Randy,” he said. “I feel invigorated to get back to the council table and get back to the work we’ve been doing the last four years.”

Jamaly, who recently became a father, said he was humbled to be re-elected though he was taking it as a sign that people were happy with the job he’s been doing.

“I think it’s reflective on the work that’s been done,” he said. “Our team has worked very well. I think with a few more years we can accomplish a lot more. It’s business as usual right now.”

Looking back on the election, all the successful candidates had very different methods. Shoemaker noted that he basically didn’t campaign at all.

“I didn’t advertise,” said Shoemaker. “No ads in the paper, no signage. I didn’t go door-to-door. I’m not a self-promoter. I thought we did everything as a team.”

Shoemaker was not the only candidate who held back on the campaign trail. Fagnan admitted that he didn’t campaign as much as he would have liked to because he was dealing with a family emergency.

“I think the town is in good shape,” he said. “Development is something we need to get on. We spent the last four years setting it up, so I think we’re on the road to more development. If we can get the county on side for a few things, I think things should work out.”

Mayor Ralph Leriger said he was delighted to see all the incumbents back at the table and said he expected this to be a strong council.

“I’m very much looking forward to hitting the ground running,” he said.

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