Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Richard Ireland will continue to serve as mayor of Jasper after residents re-elected him during the municipal election on Oct. 18.
According to the unofficial election results, Ireland won 970 votes, while his contenders Paul Butler and Basil Byrd won 414 and 92 respectively.
“I suppose it’s kind of equal parts gratifying and humbling,” Ireland said regarding his re-election.
“It has always been and remains an honour of a lifetime to serve the residents of Jasper, so I’m happy to accept the challenge and the duty once more and (I'm) eager to get back to work.”
Ireland was first elected chair of the Jasper town committee in 1989.
Later, he was elected as mayor in 2001 when Jasper became a specialized municipality and is the only mayor Jasper has ever had over the past two decades.
Although Ireland acknowledged that COVID-19 impacted how candidates campaigned this election, he wasn’t as affected by the new normal.
“I tend to rely on my past service more than the ability to go and talk to people and shake hands one-on-one,” Ireland said.
“People know what I’m about, and they know my position has been evident for a long time.”
In addition, the following six candidates have been elected as councillors:
• Rico Damota (incumbent) - 786 votes
• Wendy Hall - 973 votes
• Hellen Kelleher-Empey (incumbent) - 683 votes
• Ralph Melnyk - 830 votes
• Kathleen Waxer - 896 votes
• Scott Wilson (incumbent) - 760 votes
All three incumbents on the ballot won, and the other three winners are new to council.
The unofficial voter turnout is 1,478, which is comparable with the 2017 and 2013 elections.
The municipality is expected to finalize results in the next 48 hours.
Ireland said he was excited about the new council and how it was a mix of experience and newcomers.
“The community did, as it always does, a really excellent job selecting its representatives.”
The new council will be sworn in this Friday and will go through orientation next week, followed by budget presentations in November.
Ireland said the old guard would focus on building relationships with the three new councillors, and council as a whole will need to learn to work with each other and administration.
“Even though I’ve been there several times, there’s always something new, and in particular, new relationships forge.”
Regarding this upcoming term, Ireland said he hopes ongoing projects related to housing, such as the rapid housing initiative, will come to fruition.
Another objective will be continuing discussions with the federal government on eliminating land rent and the transfer of jurisdiction for land-use planning and development.
“There’s just no end of work to confront us, so the sooner we get started on it, the better,” Ireland said.
Ireland thanked all the candidates who ran this year, those who voted this election and the outgoing councillors.
Albertans also voted for senate nominees and referendum items during the municipal elections.
The referendum items were on whether or not to remove the principle of equalization payments from Canada’s constitution and also if Alberta should remain on Daylight Saving Time (summer hours) year-round.
The official provincial results will be released on Oct. 26 at 11 a.m.
