Marc Lefebvre is the new mayor of Parksville.
Lefebvre, a city councillor since 2002, earned 1,983 votes in the municipal election Saturday. His closest competitor, fellow councillor Bill Neufeld, garnered 1,072 votes.
When he kicked off his campaign in August, Lefebvre said “fiscal discipline” was going to be the main plank of his platform and he stuck with that message throughout a campaign that was mild but dominated by the spectre of the city’s need for a new water plant.
Lefebvre said Saturday night the water treatment plant, downtown revitalization and what the city should do with taxpayer-owned land at Jensen Avenue and the Alberni Highway will be front and centre issues early in the new council’s mandate.
“I want to hit the ground running,” said Lefebvre, who was endorsed by some local political heavyweights, including popular outgoing mayor Chris Burger, former mayors Sandy Herle and Randy Longmuir, and RDN chairman Joe Stanhope.
Neufeld said he will stay active in the city. “I may not be on council anymore, but there are certainly things I can still do, and what all citizens can do, to make sure that this new council is held accountable,” he said.
“You certainly haven’t heard the last of me, that’s for sure. The truth is there were times over the last three years when I felt I might have been more effective outside of council than on it. I guess we’ll now see.”
Also running for the mayor’s chair were Dallas Collis (196 votes) and Antonio Farinha (70 votes).
Lefebvre will lead a city council for the next four years with a lot of different faces than the council that just finished its mandate (see story below and also at www.pqbnews.com).
“They are all good people and I think they will pick it up quickly,” said Lefebvre, who added that he had some degree of confidence in his chances during the campaign.
“I was confident to an extent, but municipal politics is very hard and I knew Bill had been campaigning since May. I had a lot of positive comments, especially door-to-door. The main topic was water.”
The RESULTS
Mayor, City of Parksville
Lefebvre, Marc — 1,983 votes
Neufeld, Bill — 1,072
Collis, Dallas — 196
Farinha, Antoni — 70
The RESULTS:
Mayor, City of Parksville
Lefebvre, Marc — 1,983 votes
Neufeld, Bill — 1,072 votes
Collis, Dallas — 196 votes
Farinha, Antoni- — 70 votes