Initial counts for the provincial election are in but with a tight race in ridings like Juan De Fuca-Malahat we won’t know which party will form government until next week.
But for North Cowichan Mayor Rob Douglas, regardless of which party forms the majority, council will still put residents’ priorities front and centre.
“We’re going to continue to advocate our priorities at North Cowichan to whoever forms government, infrastructure funding to support the new housing development, the future of the Crofton the mill and the Western Forest products facilities, we’re going to continue advocating the government for the health of those mills,” he said.
Out-of-district ballots are still being counted in the Cowichan Valley, but Debra Toporowski appears to be the victor which means that there will be a by-election to fill her seat on council.
Mayor Douglas says that it will be a critical election, “Whoever ends up filling that seat is going to have a going to play a big role in shaping the future of this community. And, I hope and whoever it is knows as someone that all the Council can work with and who’s going to be looking out for the best interests of the community.”
Toporowski took a leave of absence from council for the election leaving only 6 councillors and even though there could have been deadlocked votes, the mayor says they “have been working really well together and it’s a functioning productive council, a great environment.”
Reflecting on his colleague Douglas says that he’s excited for her, “I think she’s going to be a strong voice for North Cowichan in the legislature.”
