With Courtenay – Comox getting a new MLA, mayor Bob Wells offers his thoughts on this BC election.
Saturday night’s election saw Conservative candidate Brennan Day get elected in the riding with 13,145 votes, a 232-vote advantage over NDP incumbent Ronna-Rae Leonard, who got 12,913.
Courtenay mayor Bob Wells says one of the big things to take away is the increase of voters in this year’s elections.
“If we go over the last election in 2020, we’ve had over 4,500 more people vote this time, and that number of votes is good for democracy,” said Wells.
“It’s really emphasized when you look at the results in the Courtenay-Comox riding, how important every vote is.”
While he and council are waiting for the recounts, he says he can’t get too upset or concerned as he’s worked with MLAs of different parties in the past.
For this election, he met with every candidate who ran for the riding, including Day, to talk about the priorities of the community, such as housing.
“It’s something across our province and nation that communities are struggling with, and it’s a bit of a lynchpin in terms of how it can affect other challenges such as mental health, addictions, homelessness,” said Wells.
“We’re in the middle of an atmospheric river and we have too many people outside in the rain, and we need to make sure we have a plan and get as much housing built as soon as possible.”
Other priorities Wells wants Day to focus on include infrastructure and reconciliation, with hopes of continuing to partner with the province on future initiatives.
