Meadow Lake's new council is official, following the result of Monday's election. (submitted photo/City of Meadow Lake)

By Josh Ryan

Council set

Meadow Lake releases official council election results

Nov 10, 2020 | 3:10 PM

Meadow Lake’s 2020 council race is officially decided, with all four incumbents retaining their seats.

After the unofficial results were shared late Monday evening, the nominations to city council were officially declared this morning. A total of 769 voters participated in the election, with an increase in early voters and decrease on election day turnout.

Clay DeBray and Mauri Young join Conrad Read, Richard Levesque, Tom Harrison and Ron Dishko in the role of helping guide city policy over the next four years. Read, who finished with the most votes at 506, said he was pleasantly surprised by the votes.

“I guess I was one of the lucky six that it turned in my favour,” he said. “I’m grateful for all the support that I got.”

(City of Meadow Lake)

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Getting returning members was something Read said is very important for the new council. With a field of 11 candidates, having lost several or all incumbent candidates would have made the following weeks a stressful time.

“That would have put a lot of pressure and extra time on administration and Mayor Seymour,” Read said. “On the other hand, new blood comes with fresh ideas.”

“All in all, you need to have a very diverse council.”

Read said he feels confident in direction they are heading, with a five-year strategic plan taking on many critical projects, such as replacing water and sewer lines.

“We’ve made a lot of sound fiscal judgments in the replacement of our deteriorating infrastructure,” he said.

Mayor Merlin Seymour, who acclaimed his position, is excited to have the new members sworn in on November 16 and get right into council matters.

“We’ll get the two new councillors up to speed on where we are at, then we can start the budget decision process,” he said.

This particular budget is a critical one, as with all municipalities navigating the COVID-19 pandemic. Seymour said continuing to be fully transparent with the public is critical.

“I think that’s probably why our four incumbents got back in,” he said.” Because of how upfront we are.”

“It is a huge responsibility that we are cast with and we try to do the best job we can.”

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josh.ryan@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @JoshRyanSports