Patty Heintzman has been elected the new mayor of Squamish.
Voters heard the news minutes after polls closed on Saturday evening. Her supporters cheered as they entered the Brackendale Art Gallery, where Heintzman's victory celebration was taking place.
"I think people are looking for a different style of government," Heintzman told The Squamish Chief in an interview at the gallery Saturday night.
"We want that really creative side of the community to really get out to think about these things and get excited... and then set up the systems to be the best town in B.C. to do business with," said the mayor-elect.
Heintzman said there is no animosity with outgoing Mayor Rob Kirkham. "Rob and I are friends, we respect each other and we like each other. There is no animosity. I think it was just about a different style of leadership. It was about a different vision of how we are going to get things done in the future and that is it.
"It is not personal. It is what it is."
In an interview from a private home, where his supporters were gathered Saturday evening, Kirkham was disappointed by the results but proud of his achievements as mayor.
"I'm stunned actually," he said. "I thought generally that the public was pretty happy with where we were as a community considering where we had been previously. I'm really disappointed, I was really hoping to be involved in continuing the momentum and moving Squamish ahead."
He said the LNG issue proved to be divisive and might have made the difference in the final totals.
"There was a lot of anxiety over the LNG project and I think that anxiety started long ago," he said. "People didn't have information and weren't willing to get all the information about it. There were also other people generating anxiety and I think Patty appealed to those people. If they were saying no to LNG without investigating the problems, consequences and issues or how they might be involved, then I can see why they'd choose Patty over me."
Kirkham said he's most proud of the work his group did with the Squamish Oceanfront.
"I had a great team and I'm most proud of our group accomplishing that deal," he said. "It hasn't closed yet but I hope the new mayor and council recognize the value of the Oceanfront and do everything in their power to have this project realized for the community. I'm looking forward to that being a real transformation piece for Squamish."
He said he has concerns about economic development, diversifying Squamish's tax base with industrial taxes and the need for local jobs. But he was humble in his defeat.
"The voter is always right," he said. "The choice has been made and they've made a decision about what they want. I wish Patty and her team all the best."
He called Mayor-elect Heintzman to congratulate her, but her phone battery had died so he left a voicemail.
Heintzman currently serves as a councillor. She was first elected to Squamish council in 2005 and originally came to Squamish in the 1990s to work as a reporter for The Squamish Chief.
Surrounded by her supporters at the art gallery Saturday night, Heintzman looked flushed, excited and a bit shocked, and the feeling in the room among supporters was of disbelief and happiness.
Heintzman won 2,900 votes, Kirkham 2,611 and Ron Bahm 428, according to the district's posted unofficial results.
Successful council candidates, unofficially, are Doug Race, Jason Blackman-Wulff, Karen Elliott, Peter Kent, Susan Chapelle and Ted Prior.
Unofficial vote totals: Race 2,359, Blackman-Wulff 2,315, Prior 2,194, Elliott 2,183, Kent 2,128, Chapelle 2,027. Just missing out were Paul Dosanjh 1,971 and incumbent councillor Bryan Raiser 1,662.
Ian Kent and Rick Price won the school trustee seats, according to unofficial voting results. Kent won 3,068 votes, Price won 2,782 votes, and Alice Guss 1,985, according to the unofficial results posted.
Stuntman and Councillor-elect Peter Kent kept repeating Saturday night that he is "still in shock" after winning his councillor seat. He said he thinks the difference this time, compared with his run in 2011, was he spoke more from the heart. He said his wife was dancing around the house when the results came out.
Kent, who had promised to set himself on fire to celebrate a high voter turnout, said the first thing that now needs to be tackled is the closure of the Squamish Oceanfront Lands Development deal.
He said is a council in the hand of the "new" guard.
Incumbent Councillor Ted Prior said he can't wait to get back to work at city hall. He said with the fresh faces at the table and Patricia Heintzman in the mayor's seat, municipal officials will be able to get to all the little things the last council was missing. "I think it is great," he said of working with Heintzman.
Bryan Raiser was the only incumbent not to regain his seat. It hurts, he said, but he's not going anywhere. "I love Squamish. I will be here a long time."
Raiser said he believes it was the liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant issue that lost him his seat. Instead of coming out against Woodfibre, Raiser said he told the public he wanted to see the plans and report before making a decision. "I have never been a politician," he said. "If I had came out anti-LNG, it would have been different."
Raiser said he's happy Heintzman is at the helm, but wish he could serve another four years with her as mayor.
"I will be thinking about this for a long time," he said, noting now he'll be job hunting to support his family of four.
Unsuccessful council candidate Scott Wengi said he thinks the new council is a good balance of different individuals. This won't be his last run at city hall, Wengi said, noting he learned a lot from this year's experience. "The only thing I would do differently is start my campaign earlier," he said.
Councillor candidate Auli Parviainen, who was at one point a mayoral candidate, said it has been a nasty campaign at times, and if she knew what she knows now, she would have thought long and hard about throwing her hat in the ring. She said the campaign has been draining, and the new council will need to build bridges.
Council candidate Brad Hodge said he was surprised by the success of newcomers Jason Blackman-Wulff and Karen Elliott. Usually it takes a few times around the political block before one sees a seat at the council table, he noted. It seems as though a group of candidates worked together, a strategy that may have aided their success, he said. "There was a lot of coordination," Hodge said.
Glenne Campbell, who lost her race for councillor, said a higher power is involved and not winning has freed her up to take on issues in Brackendale.
Repeat councillor candidate and Squamish character Terril Patterson told The Squamish Chief he will run again in the next election, despite losing his bid to be on council.
See more election stories and analysis in the next print edition of The Squamish Chief.
