Four incumbent councillors will return to Barriere’s council along with mayor Ward Stamer who was acclaimed last month.
Preliminary reports show incumbents Scott Kershaw captured 405 votes, Rob Kerslake received 372, Donna Kibble garnered 269 and Judy Armstrong recieved 227 votes.
District of Barriere’s council will also see two newcomers Louise Lodge and Colin McInnis with 387 and 199 votes respectively.
Thirteen candidates were vying for six council positions. Polls closed at 8 p.m. on Oct 15.
Incumbents who ran unsuccessfully include Alan Fortin with 197 votes and Amanda Sabyan 145.
Other candidates include Robert Veitch who secured 174, Michelle Rutschke 138, Debbie Sherman 121, Lance Naylor 119 and Marguerite Dodds with 153 votes.
Barriere, which has an estimated 1,528 eligible voters, had a turnout of 36.45 per cent with 557 votes cast this year. This is a drop from the 2018 statistics which had 48.4 percent voter turnout with 653 ballots cast.
In conversarion with the Star/Journal, Mayor Stamer said he feels the election went well, though it’s always tough when incumbents aren’t re-elected.
“I am looking forward to working with the newcomers and the incumbents,” Stamer said Tuesday, Oct. 18, citing a new water well for the community as one of previous council’s accomplishments.
Stamer confirmed he plans to run for chair of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District.
He is also fighting against the proposed electoral boundary changes that would align Barriere and Clearwater with the Cariboo-Chilcotin.
Stamer said the proposed change is not a fair representation of their regional district or economy, noting the valley has many economic opportunities in the future including the possibility of a new mine.
