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Durning tops polls in Vernon council byelection

Teresa Durning beats former councillor Catherine Lord by 14 votes; results not official until Dec. 8
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Greater Vernon B.C. Winter Games vice-president Teresa Durning has topped the preliminary polls in the City of Vernon’s council byelection.

Durning garnered 443 votes to beat out former Vernon councillor Catherine Lord, who ended up with 429 votes.

Former City of Vernon employee Ed Stranks was third out of 11 with 244 votes.

The results will not be declared official until Wednesday, Dec. 8.

Other results included Stephanie Hendy (107), Kevin Demers (103), Jamie Morrow (83), Sherrilee Franks (76), Erik Olesen (59), Flora Evans (53), Arthur (Art) Gourley (28) and Andy Wylie (6).

The byelection was necessitated after the death of sitting councillor Dalvir Nahal in September.

If official, Durning takes over that seat until 2022.

Municipal elections for mayor and council are slated for October 2022.

Voter turnout was extremely low.

The final of five advance voting days for Vernon’s 2021 municipal by-election took place at City Hall Thursday, Dec. 2.

The fifth day saw 233 voters attend the polls. In total, 792 voters cast a ballot during the advance voting period, and there were 1,631 votes cast overall.

A special meeting of council will take place on Tuesday, Dec. 14 at 10 a.m. for the swearing-in of Vernon’s new councillor elect. The meeting will take place in Vernon Council Chambers (3400-30th Street) and will be open to the general public.

Please note, capacity limits are in place for council chambers, in accordance with the City’s COVID safety plan. Seating is available on a first come, first served basis. For those who are unable to attend in-person, the meeting will also be livestreamed on the city’s website at www.vernon.ca/council-video.

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Roger Knox

About the Author: Roger Knox

I am a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. I started my career in radio and have spent the last 21 years working with Black Press Media.
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