“I’m the mayor?” were the first words from a shocked Brian Wiese after receiving a phone call saying he had won the mayoral race in Qualicum Beach on Oct. 20.
Wiese collected 2,581 votes compared to candidate Anne Skipsey’s 1,987.
For the former Calgary deputy fire chief, election night began at Pheasant Glen Golf Course with a small group of friends, campaign team members and his wife.
Related: Brian Wiese announces candidacy for mayor of Qualicum Beach
“I didn’t want to be anywhere were there was lots of people. I really wasn’t expecting what news I was going to hear so I didn’t want to be in a big group of people going ‘oh no,’” Wiese said.
The wait for the final vote count, Wiese said, was agonizing.
“Everyone was expecting results at 8:15 p.m. but one of the machines was having issues or something so we didn’t get them until 9:06 p.m.,” he said.
The new mayor-elect found out about his win first from Robert Filmer, who was elected Qualicum Beach councillor.
“Before anyone else could phone me he said, ‘you won’ and everybody was listening,” Wiese said.
“Everyone went crazy.”
The next hour was a blur, Wiese said.
“We went to the Qualicum Beach Inn to meet everyone else,” he said. “I know I met a lot of people and shook a lot of hands and people were so happy, but I can’t tell you who I shook hands with, it’s like a dream you sort of remember and sort of don’t. It’s one of the neatest experiences I’ve ever been through.”
Moving forward, Wiese plans to get started on his three priorities: make a cohesive council, bring doctors to the community and work on an affordable housing plan.
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“I’m hoping by March that we can actually have some ideas on the table regarding all those issues that we can bring to council and have a discussion,” he said.
Wiese is excited about the new faces on council and happy to have former Qualicum Beach Mayor Teunis Westbroek’s experience in the initial stages of his new job.
“We’re so lucky to have Teunis on the floor, he’s going to bring a wealth of information and experience to our team,” Wiese said.
The additional three elected councillors, Robert Filmer, Adam Walker and Scott Harrison are all first-timers.
Although Wiese said he doesn’t know the new elects very well yet, he believes they all “have something special to offer.”
Being new to politics himself, Wiese said he hopes the public will give him and council time to grow as a team and learn their roles.
“This team is going to do some different things, great things, but make a couple errors on the way,” Wiese said.
Another challenge of the job Wiese foresees will be keeping everyone happy.
“People want change but some people don’t, you’re not going to make everyone happy. That’s going to be my biggest challenge,” he said.
Look for a story on Parksville mayor-elect Ed Mayne in the PQB NEWS next week and online at www.pqbnews.com.