Arnold DeBoon has been elected mayor of Creston.
DeBoon will take the reins from incumbent Ron Toyota, who did not run again after a 14-year run.
DeBoon collected 1,082 votes compared to 474 for Nora Maddocks and 57 for Jim Rota.
“I don’t want to sound arrogant, but it’s kind of what I expected,” DeBoon said. “I did have a lot of support in our community and I knew that would translate well in the polls for me.”
DeBoon said he hopes the incoming council will be able to get an affordable housing project going and he’s also looking forward to the new fire hall opening.
“I hope we can put that whole issue behind us because it’s been contentious,” he said.
DeBoon said he did not find the campaign difficult. While he didn’t go door-to-door, he did have a website and monitored its traffic. He also sent out a mailer, participated in the all-candidates forums, and talked to people by phone and email.
He said there were no real recurring themes, aside from a desire for stability.
“One thing I pushed hard in my campaign information was civility. I did not mention an unkind word about anybody on social media. I want me and my council to continue that, to lead our community into a more positive mindset.
“I intend my role and leadership not to be Facebook but face-to-face so people are welcome to come and talk to me about their concerns.”
DeBoon will be joined on council by Monique Arès, Keith Baldwin, Denise Dumas, Norm Eisler, Jim Elford, and Anthony Mondia. DeBoon said he was hoping they would all be elected, “because I think we have a diverse council with a pretty broad knowledge base.”
There were 13 candidates for council, including the incumbents Baldwin, Eisler, and Elford.
Greg Banbury, Amber Bartlett, Richard Howes, Elizabeth Ireland, Scott Irwin, Adriana Snashall, and Ursula Waslovich were unsuccessful.
DeBoon said he and some other candidates gathered Saturday night at Casey’s Community House, “either to celebrate or commiserate, and it was mostly celebration.”
Meanwhile, Kathy Etheridge and Clements Verhoeven ran for the trustee position for School District 8, with Etheridge coming out on top.
The unofficial numbers for the election for directors of Electoral Areas B and C of the RDCK have also been released.
In Area B, Roger Tierney defeated Tanya Wall with a count of 550 to 246.
In Area C, Kelly Vandenberghe defeated Adam Casemore with a count of 214 to 63
Below are the vote breakdowns for the Town of Creston.
Mayor
DeBoon, Arnold 1,082
Maddocks, Nora 474
Rota, Jim 57
Councillor
Dumas, Denise: 1,000
Eisler, Norm: 975
Elford, Jim: 955
Baldwin, Keith: 814
Arès, Monique: 799
Mondia, Anthony: 736
Banbury, Greg: 605
Irwin, Scott: 563
Ireland, Elizabeth: 508
Bartlett, Amber: 371
Howes, Richard: 300
Snashall, Adriana: 402
Waslovich, Ursula: 494
School Trustee
Etheridge, Kathy: 786
Clements, Verhoeven: 598
These are the preliminary numbers, with the official declaration to come before Oct 19.