PARKSVILLE - Chris Burger is the new mayor of the City of Parksville.
He garnered 2,355 votes. His nearest challenger, Paul Reitsma, only received 749 votes.
The other two mayoral candidates, Rick Honaizer and Antonio Farhina, were not serious threats. Honaizer garnered only 76 votes, to Farhina's 51.
Reitsma congratulated Burger immediately after the results were announced at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Nov. 19. He then immediately left the Parksville Community and Conference Centre - where several candidates had gathered to wait for the outcome.
Burger said this is a strong vote for continuing on the track the city has been on.
Burger leads a council strong on incumbents.
Re-elected to city council are: Sue Powell (1,926 votes), Marc Lefebvre (1,739), Al Grier (1,607), Carrie Powell-Davidson (1,400).
New faces on council are Bill Neufeld (1,296 votes) and Peter Morrison (1,269).
The only incumbent to fall, Teresa Patterson, did so by only 87 votes.
The city's referendum to swap parkland at the tourist information centre and Craig Heritage Park was approved handily by electors.
Overall, voter turnout in Parksville was an estimated 34.9 per cent — a terrible showing — down 6.5 per cent over 2008's election.
Please note the results are preliminary and will be made official later this week.