City councillor Shari Green became the second candidate in the city's history to defeat an incumbent mayor.
Preliminary election results showed Green received 6,969 votes, ahead of incumbent mayor Dan Rogers with 5,332 votes in Saturday's municipal election.
"I have a real sense of honour and pride," Green said Saturday. "It's a great feeling and we worked very hard. I felt its a close race the whole time."
Green said she is pleased the community chose to elect her to follow through on her platform.
Also in the race for mayor were Alex Huber who received 1,200 votes, Brandon Lewis with 707 votes, Eugene Fetterly with 513 and Bruce Fader with 306. A total of 15,266 voters cast their ballots in the election - approximately 10 per cent below 2008's turnout of 16,918 votes cast.
Green is the second woman to take the mayor's chair in the City of Prince George. Carrie Jane Gray served as mayor in 1958 and 1959.
"It's wonderful - it's not why I ran - I hope people voted on the issues, but to be the second female mayor of Prince George is an honour," Green said.
Rogers is the second incumbent mayor in the city's history to be ousted in an election - Mayor Jack Nicholson was defeated by challenger Garvin Dezell in 1949.
"They had a great team and they got out the vote," Rogers said. "I really want to thank the people who came out to support me. It's been an honour to serve the people of Prince George for the past two decades."
Rogers said he plans to focus on his family and doesn't anticipate returning to politics at this time.
"My family has made a pretty big sacrifice over the last two decades," Rogers said. "[And] I have to start looking for work on Dec. 5."
Council newcomer Lyn Hall topped the polls for city council, with 9,436 votes.
"I'm excited about it. It's humbling to think there is that level of support out there for me," Hall said.
Hall said the job now is to build a strong city council team and deliver on the mandate given to the new council.
"It's what we all talked about in the campaign. It's about the fiscal responsibility piece," Hall said. "Soon in the new year we'll be into the budget deliberations."
Also elected are incumbents Brian Skakun (9,040 votes), Murry Krause (7,976 votes), Cameron Stolz (7,146 votes), Dave Wilbur (6,932 votes) and Garth Frizzell (6,189 votes). Joining them will be newcomers Albert Koehler with 7,324 votes and Frank Everitt with 5,638 votes.
Skakun said he appreciates the strong show of support he received from the community.
"I think it means the people believe in me, they believe in what I stand for," Skakun said. "It's been so challenging that past three years ... now that is all behind us and we can move forward as a community."
Krause said elections are about change, and he looks forward to working with the new council team the voters have chosen.
"I'm looking forward to forging relations with my new colleagues," Krause said.
Krause said he continues to work on his mandate to address social issues in the city.
Stolz said he is looking forward to working with the new mayor and council.
"We've got the makings of an absolutely fantastic team. The City of Prince George couldn't have asked for a better team," Stolz said. "I feel very honoured and privileged to have been reelected to my second term on council."
Frizzell said he was on pins and needles waiting for election results to come in.
"A lot of suspense. [I'm] really pleased to be back, there's a lot of things I wanted to do," Frizzell said.
Frizzell said he looks forward to working with the new faces on council, including fellow former Prince George Chamber of Commerce president Albert Koehler.
Everitt said he's honoured by the mandate given to him on city council.
"I think it's a great honor to receive that sort of support, but I know the expectations are high and it's up to elected council to meet those expectations," Everitt said. "I've think we've had a good opportunity in the last little while built some relationships and looking forward to expand and continue to build on those."
Wilbur said the new council group is, "more engaged, more capable as a group."
"I'm, of course, excited by the opportunity the voters have given me," he said. "I'm humbled by their support, and I mean that sincerely. I was in doubt from the beginning of the campaign, right through to when the numbers came in. I didn't know if I had earned the trust of the electorate."
Koehler could not be reached as of press time.
Incumbent councillor Debora Munoz lost her seat on council, falling approximately 800 votes behind Everitt.
"I respect the decision of the electorate," Munoz said. "The community has decided on its choices."
Munoz said it's too early to think about running again in the future, but she will continue to serve the community in any way she can.
with files from Charelle Evelyn
