The votes are in, and we’ve got election results! Both from the adults of Campbell River—and from your kids as well.
So, how far does the apple really fall from the tree?
There are a bunch of new faces on council in Campbell River. There would be even more if the kids were in charge.
Kermit Dahl stepped up from his former position as councillor to replace incumbent Andy Adams as Mayor of the city.
“I don’t think that it has sunk in, really,” Dahl said. “I’m just standing here with a group of people talking about the next four years. It feels pretty good, looks like a really, really good group of people,” he told the Campbell River Mirror.
That group of people is an almost entirely fresh set of voices on the council.
Only incumbents Sean Smith and Ron Kerr held on to their seats from the previous term.
Susan Sinnott, Ben Lanyon, Doug Chapman and Tanille Johnston are set to join them.
Tanille Johnston will be the first-ever Indigenous council member in the history of our city!
“It’s pretty overwhelming,” Johnston said. “I think it’s a really good first step. We have a lot of work to do, but I’m just really grateful to be able to have the opportunity to demonstrate how much those relationships can benefit our community,” she said to the Campbell River Mirror.
So how does the student vote match up to these results?
The officially elected lineup looks pretty different. For one thing, the incumbents who won would be looking for new jobs if the kids were in charge.
The students elected Larry Samson as Mayor, but Kermit Dahl was only 2 votes behind him for a very close second.
For councillors, they also elected Tanille Johnston (235 votes) and Ben Lanyon (291) and Doug Chapman (264) to their preferred council.
Had the kids been in charge, Ken Blackburn (291), Gwen Donaldson (328), and Mike Davies (266) would be joining this next term. That’s two artists and someone who works directly with vulnerable folks.
That said, Sean Smith (213) and Ron Kerr (215) and Susan Sinnott (167) weren’t far behind.
In four years, many of these kids will be voting age. How will that change the election in 2026?
