There will be a mix of new and old faces on the new board of School District 57, following Saturday's election.
Current board chairperson Sharel Warrington, vice-chairperson Tim Bennett and trustees Trish Bella and Brenda Hooker will be returning to board table. They will be joined by newcomers Tony Cable, Bruce Wiebe and Bob Harris.
Incumbent trustees Betty Bekkering and Kate Cooke fell short of reelection, while Sharon Bourassa did not seek another term.
"It looks like a very strong board," Warrington said. "I'm very pleased. We serve a big area and we have a lot to do. [But] I'm just looking forward to the next four years. It's an exciting time."
Warrington said the outgoing trustees did a good job during their time on the board, and everyone who put their name forward to represent public education should be applauded.
"We need to be proud of anyone who would step forward [to run]," she said.
Bella topped the polls with 7,338 votes.
Hooker was in second with 6,658 votes, followed by Warrington with 6,350; Bennett with 5,852; Cable with 5,843; Wiebe with 5,685; and Harris with 5,492.
Bekkering fell 477 votes short of being reelected, with 5,015, while Cooke received 4,603 votes.
Also in the race were Chris Stern with 3,912 votes; Andrew Burton with 3,869; Dori Alger with 3,628; Valentine Crawford with 3,392; Don Sabo with 3,327; Denise MacDonald with 3,237; Sheldon Harris with 2,093; and Eric Depenau with 2,019.
A total of 21,953 ballots were cast in Prince George, the Regional District of Fraser-Fort George, Mackenzie, McBride and Valemount. Of those 2,663 were cast in advance polls, and 218 were special or mail-in ballots.
Results from the final three polls, representing about 500 votes, trickled in at 1 a.m. on Sunday morning. However, the victory parties started around 11 p.m. on Saturday when the majority of polls had reported. The seven top candidates established leads early the night and held them.
Bennett said this election saw a very strong slate of candidates running for school board.
"I think it's a great team the community has assembled," Bennett said. "There probably could have been two good boards with the candidates we had."
He said he was all nerves on election night, until the results started rolling in.
"I took a very different approach than all the other candidates. I didn't do any signs, I didn't do any traditional advertising," he said. "I spent just over $400, and all that on social media. I'm very glad that it worked."
With the challenges facing public education "there is a lot of work to be done," Bennett said.
"I'm really looking forward to continuing to work with Brenda, Sharel and Trish," he said. "And I'm really looking forward to getting to know Tony, Bob and Bruce better."
Cable said Saturday was "a long day" as he waited for the results and tried to occupy his mind.
"I had to find lots of things to do keep me busy. You always second guess yourself," Cable said. "I hoped with my experience in the school district and volunteering, people would support me. I'm very pleased to be on the board. I think it's going to be a good board."
One term trustee Kate Cooke said she isn't disappointed in the result, despite having lost.
"To be honest, I'm relieved. It was a lot of work to lose all the time," Cooke said. "[But] I've put forward al lot of good motions."
Cooke said she has two young children, so she'll spend her new-found free time with them.
"I lost to some good people, so I can't feel bad about it."
In an interview Sunday, Hooker said she was excited to be returning for another term, and the strong voter turnout.
"When [more than] 6,600 people circle the ballot beside your name... it's such an honour, and so humbling," Hooker said. "We're going to have a tough term. [But] we have such a strong team."
The broad range of experience – including a former teacher and former principal – as well as parents with business and accounting backgrounds will help the board take on the challenges ahead, she said.
Bob Harris said it "was gratifying to have that level of support" on election night, and he looks forward to working with the new board.
"It'll be exciting to have some new faces on the board," Harris said.
Bella, Wiebe and Bekkering could not be reached as of press time.
