Jaime Cunliffe wins by a clear margin of 69 votes*
Lions Bay Council's almost five month state of near-deadlock came to a close this evening, with the election of candidate Jaime Cunliffe.
Cunliffe's experience at the Council table may have made the difference with voters, especially in light of the significant staff turn-over of recent months.
The heightened interest in this campaign was reflected in the total number of residents who made it out to cast their vote.
While today was official voting day, mail-in ballots as well as ballots from the advanced voting that took place on April 26 were counted this evening, along with those cast today.
Sources tell The Watershed the final results were:
Tanya Cosgrave: 294
Jaime Cunliffe: 363
for a total of 657 ballots cast.
By way of comparison, the total number of ballots counted on the occasion of Lions Bay's last by-election (held in 2017) was 291. There was a margin of six votes between first and second place. Norm Barmeier won the seat that had been vacated by the resignation of Eileen Wilke.
The 2023 by-election has been hard-fought, and both candidates are to be congratulated for their tenacity in making it across the finish line.
*Initial figures, as released May 6, 2023. Official results will be posted on the Lions Bay Village website HERE.
Editor's Note: The preliminary election results are posted on the village website HERE , as of 11 pm, confirming the figures noted above. This declaration, signed by Mark Brown, Chief Electoral Officer, indicates that 657 of 1140 registered electors voted, which meant a turn-out of just over 57 percent. The results show that Cunliffe led Cosgrave in all three categories of voting: mail-in ballots (15 to 8), advanced voting (152 to 151) and in-person voting (196 to 135), with the advanced voting holding the slimmest leadership margin, of only a single vote.
Care to share your post-election musings? The Watershed welcomes your thoughts. Leave a comment below, or email editor@lionsbaywatershed.ca
Thanks Karen and we are so enjoying your reporting which brings out all that is good about our wonderful village. Having all the news and reporting done in such an evenhanded way makes us feel good about where we live. We had two great candidates and we are now hopeful of seeing council move forward in a balanced and thoughtful way for all of us.
Well done Karen for your fast and unbiased reporting, maybe some of it will rub off on this new Mayor and council and we can get down to getting the Village back on track. Only hiring qualified staff with municipal experience would be a good start.
Wow, fast up-to-date news. Thanks so much, KC for all the impartial election reporting and prompt distribution of the final result!!!
Hallelujah! Maybe there is a God after all. 🙏😁