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Cooper wins for mayor

According to the unofficial results, Nancy Cooper is Salmon Arm's new mayor.
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Nancy Cooper accepts congratulations on her win for mayor shortly after she got the news.

According to the unofficial results, Nancy Cooper is Salmon Arm's new mayor.

The city's six council members include: Alan Harrison, Ken Jamieson, Marg Kentel, Debbie Cannon, Denise Reimer and Chad Eliason.

The voters returned incumbents Bobbi Johnson and Michel Saab to the School District #83 board.

Cooper will be Salmon Arm's second female mayor in history, leading a council where, for the first time, women are in the majority.

She led in all the polls including the community centre, Gleneden, Canoe and the advance polls.

It was third-time's a charm for the former councillor.

Her victory comes after two unsuccessful mayoral attempts in 2005, where she lost to Marty Bootsma by only three votes, and losing by a larger margin to him again in 2008.

"This is very exciting," she said shortly after hearing the results at a friend's home. "A lot of people believed in me for a long time, so I feel like this is their victory too."

Cooper says she was expecting a close race between her and opponent Kevin Flynn, who has spent the previous nine years on city council.

"I was pretty nervous, especially remembering those three votes from years past. So I really just need to thank all the people who supported me, who campaigned for me. It was their hard work that made this happen."

Asked what her plans were now, Cooper said she was just going to enjoy the moment.

"Now I'm going to a party with my hard-working supporters... I'll think about that tomorrow," she said with a laugh.

Alan Harrison returns to his seat on council, handily topping the polls.

"It feels pretty humbling," he said shortly after the results come through. "There were so many good candidates in this election, any of them could have been good councillors. I really didn't know how this was going to go. I'm happy and humbled."

The voters appeared to appreciate experience on their council, electing four incumbents, in addition to Marg Kentel, who has extensive council experience. Denise Reimer is the sole rookie at the table.

"It looks like a functional council, they are all people I can work with. It's re-energizing," says Harrison.

Unofficial results are as follows:

Mayor:

*Nancy Cooper  2,745

Kevin Flynn  2,214

Ronald Telfer 149

 

Council (six positions) :

* Alan Harrison (incumbent) 2,621

* Ken Jamieson (incumbent) 2,191

* Marg Kentel 2,126

* Debbie Cannon (incumbent)  1,983

* Denise Reimer  1,964

* Chad Eliason (incumbent)  1,860

 

Warren Bell  1,794

Tim Lavery  1,732

Ivan Idzan  1,546

Glenn Hill  1,523

Lynne Hawrys 1,455

Tom Sakamoto 1,445

Thomas Welsh  1,424

Jim Kimmerly  946

Louise Wallace Richmond  854

John Lund  736

Ted Bacigalupo  690

Skylar Plourde 661

 

School district (two positions)

* Bobbi Johnson (incumbent) 3,366

* Michel Saab (incumbent) 3,156

Marcel Bedard 1,561