An almost entirely new council will take their seats in Sechelt on Dec. 7 when they are sworn in for a new three-year term.
Forty-three per cent of voters in Sechelt cast a ballot in the Nov. 19 municipal election, up from 38.5 per cent last time.
The electorate made a bold decision to oust almost every incumbent running for the six council spots, as only Alice Lutes saw victory on Saturday.
Lutes, who garnered 1,478 votes, said she is eager to work with the new council.
"I'm quite excited and I'm looking forward to it," Lutes said. "I think it's going to be very different. Everybody's so enthusiastic. I hope they keep that attitude and that we have a great going forward because I think there's some real hope there for some things that can go well."
The only other familiar face to gain a council seat was Mike Shanks, who served a previous term on council.
Shanks was elected with 1,481 votes and he said he's happy to be involved in municipal politics again. He's also happy with the council he'll be working with for the next three years.
"I think it's going to work out quite well. There appears to be a good mix there and that's what you always look for on a new council," he said.
The candidate topping the polls was Tom Lamb, who brought in an impressive 2,239 votes.
"I'm pretty humbled by that," Lamb said.
He thinks his new team at the council table is "awesome."
"I'm very excited about working with these guys. I think it's a very well rounded group of people," he said.
Doug Hockley won his seat with 1,777 votes, landing him the second most popular vote.
He said he's ecstatic about the win and excited about the new council.
"It's an exciting new council. It's got some experience brought to it through Mike Shanks and Alice Lutes, which will be good references for decisions being made," Hockley said. "I really am looking forward to working with John [Henderson], the new mayor, and the rest of the new players on council."
Candidate Chris Moore secured his spot with 1,718 votes.
"I'm a pretty happy camper. It's nice to see such great support as a newcomer" he said. "I think the people in the municipality were looking for something pretty definitive."
Darnelda Siegers took the last council seat with 1,456 votes.
"It still doesn't feel real. I had people telling me that I'd do well and I had people telling me not to count on getting in at all, so I really had no expectations," she said. "I'm excited by the possibilities that I see available to us and the team that we've got is going to be phenomenal."
The three incumbents who fell were Warren Allan with 898 votes, Alice Janisch with 841 votes and Keith Thirkell with 833 votes.
While Allan is taking the loss in stride, saying it gives him time to focus on his appraisal business, Thirkell was crying foul over election tactics he felt cost him the win.
"It's interesting because the province as far as I can remember brought in legislation that comes into effect at the next municipal election where there will be no third party advertising allowed and a cap on independent candidates' advertising," Thirkell said. "So what we just saw was basically, I think, the building community and the business community buying an election. I hate to say it, but they got the vote out, for sure."
Janisch did not return Coast Reporter calls for an interview by press time.
