Kirk LaPointe has won the West Vancouver mayoralty with 5,213 votes in preliminary results from all nine polls.
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Kirk LaPointe has been elected mayor of West Vancouver, taking the mayor’s chair with 5,213 votes, according to preliminary results from all nine polls.
LaPointe, who received 43.6 per cent of the vote, defeated incumbent Mark Sager, who finished with 3,799 votes and 31.8 per cent. Former Coun. Sharon Thompson, who entered the mayoralty race later, placed third with 2,510 votes, or 21 per cent, while Joe Spears earned 428 votes.
LaPointe said during the campaign he focused on the future and not the past, adding that he believes residents want to be more included in decisions at district hall and want “their tax dollars treated more respectfully.” He also said voters want “a stronger champion at Metro Vancouver, because the wastewater treatment plant is going to be a 30-year burden.”
LaPointe said he planned to approach the role with a different style than Sager, telling voters he will spend “a lot more time listening to people,” and that he does not have “deep friendships” in the community or the same lifetime ties as Sager, saying instead he will treat every resident as “a fresh opportunity to learn.”
Sager did not return calls on election night and left his election night gathering of supporters early.
Preliminary results showed 11,952 of 33,703 eligible voters cast ballots in West Vancouver, for a 35 per cent voter turnout. Newly elected councillors include Tim Webb (5,381 votes), Lee Lau (5,127 votes) and Jaime Webbe (4,098 votes), joining incumbents Linda Watt (4,965 votes), Scott Snider (4,381 votes) and Peter Lambur (3,904 votes).
Incumbent Coun. Christine Cassidy was not re-elected. The municipal election comes after West Vancouver council frequently clashed with the province over requirements to zone single-family neighbourhoods for greater density, including this year when West Vancouver became the first case of the province overruling a municipal decision to pass a local area plan for Ambleside.
Felicia Zhu, Sheelah Donahue, Richard Loat, John Calimente and Karen Straith were elected as West Vancouver school trustees in the same preliminary results.
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