DAWSON CREEK, B.C. — Leonard Hiebert has been re-elected in Electoral Area D, while Maureen Ethier has come out on top in Electoral Area E following Saturday’s municipal election in the Peace River Regional District.
The results remain preliminary. The PRRD says it will not issue its election release until the results are official and the assent votes have been counted later this week. The preliminary results did not become publicly available until about 2:30 a.m. Sunday.
Electoral Area D
Hiebert won another term representing Electoral Area D, receiving 264 votes.
Challenger Orval Harris received 138 votes, giving Hiebert a 126-vote margin in the preliminary count.
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| Leonard Hiebert | 264 |
| Orval Harris | 138 |
The race was one of two contested electoral-area director races in the regional district.
Electoral Area E
The closest contest for an open rural seat involved four candidates in Electoral Area E.
Maureen Ethier finished first with 123 votes.
Richard Nicholls placed second with 79 votes, followed by Julia Nelson with 36 votes and Jason Young with six.
| Candidate | Votes |
|---|---|
| Maureen Ethier | 123 |
| Richard Nicholls | 79 |
| Julia Nelson | 36 |
| Jason Young | 6 |
Ethier finished 44 votes ahead of Nicholls in the preliminary count.
The Area E race did not include incumbent director Dan Rose, who did not seek another term.
Two PRRD directors acclaimed
Two of the four PRRD electoral-area races were decided before voters went to the polls.
Reid was acclaimed in Electoral Area B, while Bradley Sperling was acclaimed in Electoral Area C.
That left only Areas D and E to be decided at the ballot box Saturday.
The four electoral areas represent rural residents on the PRRD board. Municipalities within the regional district also appoint representatives to the board following their local elections.
Assent vote results coming later this week
The PRRD election also included a series of assent votes on proposed regional district services.
Those results have not yet been released.
PRRD Communications Manager Megan Brooks said the regional district is waiting until both the election results are official and the assent votes are counted before issuing its election media release.