PRINCE ALBERT — Mira Lewis and Darcy Sander are the two newest trustees in the City of Prince Albert in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division after placing second and fifth in the election on Wednesday.
Lewis finished fifth with 1,537 votes while Sander finished second with 2,473 votes. They will replace former trustees Grant Gustafson and Michelle Vickers, who declined to run this election.
"I'm still in shock at the seven people that landed behind me in votes. I mean, I voted for a bunch of them,” Lewis said.
Lewis was fifth but finished just ahead of sixth-place finisher Shayne Morley by just 37 votes.
Sander was also not expecting the results to have him finish second.
“I am surprised that I was elected, given the talents and qualifications of the candidates,” Sander said by email Friday.
Returning to the board as in-city trustees are longtime trustee Arne Lindberg who finished first with 2,838, Alan Nunn who was elected to a second term with 2,324 and former board chair Barry Hollick, who finished fourth with 2,049 votes.
“I have had the opportunity to work professionally with many of the members over my teaching career. They are committed and skilled,” Sander said of the board.
In Subdivision 1 Bill Yeaman was re-elected for a third term with 403 votes with opponent Shannon Andrews finishing second with 78 votes. In Subdivision 2, which was formerly represented by board chair and current Batoche 小蓝视频 Darlene Rowden, Neru Franc was first with 175 votes while Carlos Correa was second with 109 votes. In Subdivision 3, longtime trustee and SSBA President Jaimie Smith-Windsor lost to challenger Jill Brown. Brown received 434 votes, while Smith-Windsor received 104 votes. In Subdivision 4 and Subdivision 5, Cher Bloom and Bill Gerow were re-elected by acclamation.
Both Sander and Lewis see the many returnees as a benefit.
"I think experience is important, but also new ideas are important. I think it's probably a pretty good mix. I'm looking forward to working with them,” Lewis said.
"I really look forward to working with everyone else looking after the needs of kids and parents and school workers and the community.”
“It was good to see many of the incumbents re-elected,” Sander said.
Sander said he wants to see students safe, healthy, engaged, supported and challenged.
Lewis said reducing overcrowding will be a priority for her.
"Short-staffed classrooms don't meet for the best outcomes,” she said. “I think that kids need to be supported, respected and encouraged. I think their talents need to be recognized and honed, their struggles supported and overcome. They need to be safe and nurtured and provided with the necessities that make learning challenging, rewarding and fun.”
Shayne Morley finished sixth with 1,500 votes, while Tim Yeaman finished seventh with 1,419 votes, Daphne Masih finished eighth with 1,310, Cherie Rustulka finished ninth with 1,132 votes, Kurtis Hamel finished 10th with 1,042 votes, Alex Crawley finished 11th with 1,029 votes and Michael Dormuth finished 12th with 788 votes.
The board will meet for the first time on Friday, Nov. 22 with an organizational meeting to select a new chair and vice-chair followed by a regular meeting.
