Incumbent Suzanne Lohnes-Croft will move from a councillor seat to a mayoral seat based on Saturday’s election results. Alongside her, three out of six councillors are returning to town hall.
In a Facebook post, Lohnes-Croft writes, “Well it has been quite a day and quite a month. I am both humbled and grateful for the support and votes I received. Thank you Mahone Bay, and thank you to all the candidates, offering yourself up for public office is in itself, an amazing accomplishment.”
Lohnes-Croft beat Tony Sampson by 64 votes. Sampson threw his hat in the ring on the final day of nominations in September to ensure there would be a mayoral race and to direct the conversation towards issues he thought were important.
In the morning after the election, Sampson wrote on his campaign Facebook page, “Although we can [sic] came close it wasn’t quite enough but I am deeply honoured by your support. I plan to keep engaged on the matters before Council in whatever way that I can.”
The rest of the council list is as follows:
Penny Carver
Joseph Maxwell Feeney
Colin Kingsmill
Bryan Palfreyman
Rebecca Twanow
Kelly Wilson
With a voter turnout over 64%, it is clear that Mahone Bay voters were excited about the possibilities of change this election.
Many candidates gathered at Eli + Trix on Saturday night to celebrate campaigns and results.
Newly elected Councillor Colin Kingsmill, who campaigned on fiscal responsibility and transparency, is relieved the campaign period is over and is excited at what comes next.
“I’m glad the race was over. I think it got a little ugly during the race but I think the way the cards have fallen are [sic] kind of lovely. It’s a little bit of the old- that’s not the right word- a little bit of new,” he said. “I think that the people that were brought on are going to bring a lot of balance.”
Newly elected Councillor Rebecca Twanow echoes Kingsmill.
“I’ve never run for anything like this before so you know, I’ve mostly just been a housewife, but I love Mahone Bay. So, I think that having a little bit of old and the new will be a really good match.”
