By-election results

City of Lethbridge Alderman – (One Position)

COFFMAN, Jeffrey: 37.36%, 3,304

SWITZER, Lea: 15.41%, 1,363

MCCREA, George R.: 11.48%, 1,015

BOORA, Bal: 10.68%, 944

TRATCH, Ken: 876, 9,91%

HYGGEN, Blaine Eddy: 8.72%, 771

GALLOWAY, Wade: 2.68%, 237

ADENIYI, Kay: 2.61%, 231

LAYTON, Kevin: 0.81%, 72

HOEG, Rod J.: 0.34%, 30

 

Voter Turnout 12.95%

8,849 Ballots Cast

Dianne Nemeth Returning Officer for the City of Lethbridge

 

It’s worth it

It’s voting day here in Lethbridge (again).

Voting day for poli junkies like myself is always filled with a certain tense excitement. The outcome, although sometimes predictable, is never certain. Upsets happen and underdogs come in first.

We have ten candidates vying for one position. A position that is going to hard to fill. The comparisons that will be drawn are inevitable. Outside of that even, it is difficult to join a team already formed with a vision.

Looking at the race there are 4 serious contenders here: Jeffrey Coffman, Lea Switzer, Wade Galloway and George McCrea. Tratch and Hyggen come up quick there, but after the Cornerstone scandal it doesn’t look good for Tratch. Hyggen always does well, but not enough has been gained to push him ahead.

Coffman is the clear favourite – his 213 vote loss last election gives him an edge no one else can take. Switzer preformed well and was a strong candidate for many, though her limited time meant a limited public profile. Galloway and McCrea are new, so they will get some support. Lethbridge is thirsty for change, superficial as it is, and new council members are getting a great deal of support.

The biggest problem will be the turnout today. With a projected temperature at -30 degrees with the wind chill, many will be deterred from going out. There are only six polling stations this time around, click here for the complete list.

This is an important time; not just for Lethbridge, but for the world. Countries are turned upside down to earn a right that we enjoy so liberally here at home. Yes, it is your right not to vote but is it the right thing to do? To not even bother to go to the station and spoil a ballot. Submit a protest vote if you hate/don’t care about the system that much, but at least let your voice be counted.

The upheaval in Edmonton, and around the world proves at least one thing: democracy matters. It is the difference between living and dying for some people, and it is worth the fight.

Brave the cold today, go out and cast a ballot for that lone seat in our municipal government, for no other reason than because you can.

A case of the Mondays?

Last’s nights forum was disappointing on many levels but before I stray too far from the real story let me just make the point that the candidates came out with full on and genuine passion.

The forum was sparsely attended, which isn’t all that surprising as there had been two previous, well attended forums, and two meet and greets – giving voters ample opportunity to decide who they want to fill the seat. As well, the advance polls saw record turn-out, and hopefully no one is under the misguided impression that the record voter turn-out for advance polls indicates a record turn-out in general.

Coffman, Galloway, Tratch, McCrea, and Boora were the strongest by far. Switzer has clearly lost some of that mojo seen in the first debate held by SACPA as she stumbled over her answers and didn’t seem to say much despite how many words she used. Layton did well, but was unable to debate finer points on most issues. Coffman came out as the most knowledgeable. It is really too bad Galloway chose to run against Coffman or visa versa – they would make a great campaign team and together could do effect some real change here. Adeniyi was not in attendance due to a commitment conflict.

When the election results are in, what will be telling is who got out those advance votes. Judging by leads in the forums and from word about town Jeff Coffman, Ken Tratch, and Wade Galloway are strong contenders. Many are discounting Tratch but people like to recognize the name they are voting for, and Tratch does have community support.

Galloway has some buzz around him, and if last night’s forum is an indication, he knows of which he speaks. He stayed true to the issues and presented a knowledgeable view-point when he spoke. He also seemed to gain momentum with those in attendance. However, is it volume or quantity? If he can engage the youth to vote in the same way he engages his motley crew of skateboarders Lethbridge might just see an upset.

Coffman is the obvious favourite here, coming in just 230 votes shy of winning the 8th seat in the general election. The question here is still what prevented him from capturing those votes? He managed to beat out 4 incumbents with his vote share, but three surpassed him (though in the case of Wickersham – not by much). He is intelligent, articulate, and last night showed he isn’t afraid to let every word count. While most candidates tried to cram all their thoughts into one answer, Coffman spoke with measured grace. I truthfully cannot say the same for some others.

The general introductions were good, people seemed relatively at ease and despite some stumbles everyone presented their platforms well. The question period had the lows and highs though. Some candidates – Galloway, Coffman and Tratch, were able to answer clearly and articulately, even if the questions wasn’t presented as such.

My biggest issue was with the media panel who seemed to be unprepared and disconnected from issues. I heard one question from one media member that made sense and wasn’t based on personal opinion. The rest were non-sensical at best, and pandering to a candidate at worst.

Not to call out the media brethren, but I always seem to expect more than what precedence has provided. It would be nice to see people up there who understood the issues – maybe the city council beat reporter instead of the news editor, just a thought.

Truthfully, there isn’t a whole lot to report on. The questions were predictable and hammered the same points that have been brought forward time and time again. The platforms were re-hashed and the performances by the candidates were expected.

To sum it up, the process of gearing up for this forum likely did not justify the outcome for most.