Red Deer Advocate - Newcomers Earn Spots on Council, October 16, 2007
Oct 16, 2007
By LANA MICHELIN
Advocate staff
Retired RCMP officer Buck Buchanan and community advocate Gail Parks will replace two familiar faces on Red Deer city council.
One of the biggest upsets in Monday's municipal election was incumbent Bev Hughes failing to get a council seat.
The retired airline owner, who was first elected in 1995, ran neck-to-neck for the last seat with fellow incumbent Lorna Watkinson-Zimmer as the results came in.
He was defeated by just 23 votes. Watkinson-Zimmer received 6,233 votes to Hughes's 6,210.
Watching democracy in action was nerve-racking for Watkinson-Zimmer, who was not happy that Hughes was ousted.
"Bev is an honest, decent man who worked relentlessly for the city. He had his finger on the pulse of everything that was going on and he had a calming voice. He really thought things out," said Watkinson-Zimmer, who will miss his contribution.
Former city councillor Jeffrey Dawson freed up another council seat when he jumped into the mayoralty race. He failed to unseat incumbent Morris Flewwelling.
An open seat was filled by Buchanan, who ran on a law and order platform.
Buchanan was swept in with the third highest number of votes (7,653), behind the most popular incumbents: Cindy Jefferies, with 9,080 votes, and Tara Veer, with 8,808.
Buchanan said it's not surprising that his platform resonated with so many voters, considering that recent city surveys found that crime and homelessness were among the top concerns of Red Deer residents. "I think that it struck a chord with people."
Parks is the other elected newcomer. The retired businesswoman received 6,439 votes, just after incumbent Lynne Mulder, who garnered the fourth highest total with 7,416 votes.
Parks, who was a municipal representative in her former hometown in Newmarket, Ont., said she campaigned hard to win a council seat in her new hometown of six years.
While hand-delivering 6,000 flyers to homes, she found a lot of people supported her stand for the gasification of garbage and for the creation of more basement suites to help with affordable housing options.
Even her position for better snow removal seemed to receive a lot of community support, said Parks. "It's not a sexy (issue), but people were concerned about it."
Incumbents Larry Pimm and Frank Wong also won another three years on council with respective vote totals of 6,432 and 6,280.
Pimm believes his previous popular support could have been weakened by his conditional support for the possible Molly Banister Drive extension to solve traffic congestion in southeast Red Deer.
Regardless, Pimm believes speaking out was the right thing to do "when that's what I believe."
Wong was pleased to get a second term, noting he worked hard to represent the city at the most events over the last three years.
Hughes was disappointed to lose his seat and attributes this to the public perception that he wasn't doing enough because he was not vocal.
Being a quiet councillor without "a whole lot of drums to beat" doesn't mean he wasn't passionate and committed, said Hughes.
He lists among his greatest accomplishments helping restructure organizations under the Normandeau Culture and Natural History Society Board as well as overseeing the formation of the assisted living component of Pines Lodge.
Hughes said he will enjoy having more free time with his family, but intends to keep contributing to the community as a Sunnybrook Farm volunteer and in other roles. "The city needs people who work to (its) benefit."
Other candidates who didn't get a council seat were two-time contenders Phil Hyde and Dale Wood, as well as Garry Didrikson, George Croome and Stephen Laird.
Contact Lana Michelin at lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
Reprinted courtesy of Red Deer Advocate