Sparwood’s incumbent mayor David Wilks came out of Saturday night’s election with a win.
Wilks won by a significant margin, earning 734 ballots, or 68.5 per cent of the vote. His opponent, Hungry Baytaluke, earned 302 votes, or 28.2 per cent of the ballot.
“I’m glad for the people of Sparwood who voted for me and got me back in,” said Wilks. “Thanks to Hungry Baytaluke for running. It was a good race.”
Now that the election is over, Wilks said he will turn his attention to the big issues Sparwood is facing.
“Two of the big challenges we’re going to have is upgrades to our wastewater treatment plant and housing, just like pretty much every other community,” said Wilks.”We’re going to try to work with some of the business partners around town and see if we can get some housing moving here.”
Half of Sparwood’s council is staying the same, as John Baher, Amy Cardozo and Jason Christensen will stay on board. Newcomers Steven Kallies, Sam Atwal and Chris Nand will be welcomed in.
“We have three incumbent councillors and three new ones so that’s a great mix,” said Wilks. “I’m looking forward to hearing their ideas. Let’s see what we can do over the next four years to make Sparwood a bigger and better place.”
Residents also decided on a pair of referendum questions, and neither of them passed.
“The people have spoken, both referendums failed and that’s okay. We’ll move forward and figure out how we move ahead with other opportunities that come available over the next four years,” said Wilks.
Voters were able to decide whether they approved of borrowing up to $3-million to renovate Fire Hall #2. 533 people voted against the idea, while 515 approved of the idea.
The other question up for decision was the proposed borrowing of up to $15-million for a new multi-purpose facility. This did not pass down with 586 no votes and 463 votes in favour.
Wilks said he’s looking forward to serving as mayor for another term.
“We have a lot to do in Sparwood, and the people gave me the confidence to carry forward for the next four years,” said Wilks. “Whether you voted for me or not, we do what’s best for Sparwood, and we will continue to do that.”