Sooke voters showed tonight that they like Maja Tait so much they wanted her back for four more years.
“It’s a very humbling experience,” Sooke’s re-elected mayor told about 100 supporters at the Royal Canadian Legion. “This town has changed in the last four years, and we have many challenges as we move forward.”
Tait handily defeated challengers Kevin Pearson and Mick Rhodes by more than 670 votes.
Her boosters said she balanced growth and the environment, while addressing the need for a healthy community.
“We’ve built a lot of momentum in the campaign, and I’m excited on the prospect of the new council and the new challenges.”
RELATED: Sooke mayor ready to tackle community growth
Sooke also elected four new councillors: Megan McMath, Jeff Bateman, Tony St.-Pierre and Al Beddows.
“I’m honoured to be on council,” Bateman said. “I’m expecting a huge learning curve as I learn the inner workings of council and the municipality.”
The rookie councillors will join incumbent councillors Brenda Parkinson and Ebony Logins.
MORE INFO: Find the vote count here.
Observers said the campaign was less rancorous than the 2014 race, when Tait defeated then-councillor Herb Haldane.
Voter turnout today was about 41 per cent of the 9,862 registered voters.
Pearson was surprised by the results for both the mayor’s race and council.
“The voters always get it right. It seems like people were looking for a change.”
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editor@sookenewsmirror.com
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