Donna McMahon defeated the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s (SCRD) only incumbent candidate on election night, and with the upset comes a complete changeover of rural directors at the board.
McMahon will replace long-time Elphinstone director Lorne Lewis and will be joined by newly elected Leonard Lee in Area A, Andreas Tize in Area D and Mark Hiltz in area F. Lori Pratt was elected by acclamation for director in Area B, Halfmoon Bay.
While new directors celebrate their election, outgoing Sechelt mayor and SCRD chair Bruce Milne was less optimistic. Speaking to supporters in Sechelt about the election result, he remarked, “It’s also an entire change at the regional district, which is much more troubling because there are really serious issues at the regional district that have not been dealt with.”
Lewis echoed that sentiment when speaking with Coast Reporter after the election. “I am really worried for the board not having any continuing people. There’s just such a blank slate. I believe there’s a bunch of things that need to be acknowledged and continued, but those things aren’t on the table anymore.”
McMahon celebrated her win at Chaster House with a couple dozen supporters. After thanking voters, she told the crowd, “Government is a lumbering beast and nudging it onto a different course will not be easy. But if all the newly elected representatives strive to work collaboratively, we can find solutions to our problems.”
McMahon, who roundly beat Lewis with 728 of the area’s 1,061 ballots cast, ran on a campaign of change, both within her area and at the SCRD. The former journalist urged the SCRD to improve its communication and transparency, including a call for live-streaming at board meetings, something she addressed election night. In early October the district made audio from board meetings available online, and at Chaster House she called it “one win already from this campaign.” She also vowed to keep her constituency updated by revising her campaign website and setting up an email newsletter. Voter turnout was 37 per cent compared to 38 per cent in 2014.
Lewis was first elected in 2005. In the days leading up to the election, Lewis told Coast Reporter he was still recovering from an illness that waylaid him at the beginning of the campaign, and had been unable to knock on as many doors. “Of course I’m disappointed, but on the other hand when you take on this work you have to realize you’re not doing it forever,” said Lewis after the election. While he will be stepping away form public office, he said he doesn’t plan to back down in his opposition to the Chapman drawdown and will continue supporting the process underway to secure a land-use plan for Mt. Elphinstone.
“It’s sad that I’m not going to be directly involved in it, but on the other hand, nobody’s got this far since the mid 1990s,” Lewis said.
With 636 votes, Leonard Lee had the second most votes of candidates in the rural areas. He beat second-place finisher Mike Price by 438 votes. Sandy Hegyi came in third with 53. Voter turnout in Area A was 39 per cent.
Lee will be replacing outgoing director Frank Mauro, who was first elected in 2011 when he soundly beat Mike Carson. Voter turnout that year was lower, at 36 per cent. Lee was Mauro’s alternate director but resigned midway through the term because of his vocal criticism of the Pender Harbour Dock Management Plan. During an all-candidates meeting, Lee said he would consider a feasibility study for incorporation in Pender Harbour and said addressing the Coast’s water shortage problem was a key priority.
After thanking the other candidates for running “honourable and fair campaigns,” Lee told Coast Reporter he was “thankful and proud that I was selected as the people’s choice to represent the residents of our area and will do everything I can to live up to their expectations.”
In Roberts Creek, Andreas Tize will be taking over for Mark Lebbell. At 40, Tize will be the youngest director on the SCRD board. He beat second-place Hans Penner by 125 votes. The Creek saw 1,049 people cast ballots for five candidates, with voter turnout at 38 per cent, down from 2014’s relatively high turnout of 43 per cent.
“I’m thrilled, grateful and honoured that Roberts Creek has chosen me as their elected representative,” said Tize from Milan, Italy, where he was on business on election night. “I will do my best to represent the community and I’m looking forward to sitting down with the other members of the board to create a positive working relationship that will get things done.” He also thanked his fellow candidates “for a friendly and respectful race.”
Area F saw the closest race – and at 31 per cent, the lowest voter turnout in the SCRD – with Mark Hiltz beating Dave Brackett by 94 votes. Hiltz earned 328 of the area’s 562 votes. Area F was the only area that did not hold an all-candidates meeting. Voter turnout was marginally higher in 2014 at 33 per cent, when Ian Winn beat Ron Girard.
Hiltz announced his candidacy in early August. Before retiring he worked for the Town of Gibsons and the District of Sechelt in various roles, including as an operator of drinking and wastewater systems. He also served as president for the West Howe Sound Community Association, among other positions. He told Coast Reporter days before the election that he had knocked on hundreds of doors.
Lori Pratt, outgoing chair of School District No. 46, was elected by acclamation in Halfmoon Bay. She will be taking over from outgoing director Garry Nohr.
With two women directors, the SCRD will have a more gender-balanced board than it has since 2014. This year, four of the 13 candidates were women, up from one candidate – Barbara Hague – in 2014. Among this year’s candidates was Pratt, who has been outspoken about increasing the number of women elected to office on the Coast. In March, she and Sechelt mayor-elect Darnelda Siegers hosted a campaign school for women. At that time, Pratt called the 2014 election “really disheartening – not having a lot of women even run.”
When reflecting on election night about her win, McMahon told Coast Reporter, “When I talked to voters and I said there were nine seats at the table and there were nine men in those seats, I got a lot of reaction to that. I think the electorate wants to see more women at the board table.”
– With files from Sean Eckford
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