Incoming Thompson council members reflect on city election

The Thompson Regional Community Center was packed on election night. Results came up on TV screens, and they showed the city choosing its first new mayor in eight years. Oswald Saad defeated Colleen Smook in a close race. At City Hall, he'll soon start his first term as mayor, where he wants to address community safety and city policy. I've been spending the last six to eight hours fully digesting some of the things that That myself and my fellow elected councillors will be dealing with and we have a lot of opportunities to really take Thompson forward. The city also elected an eight-member council. Several incumbents and former councillors earned spots. Carla Antichow was one of the eight. She'll be starting her first term. She said she was so nervous she nearly pulled out of the race, but she'll be ready to start. I almost backed out at the last second and then realized you know I would rather regret doing something than regret not doing something and so I thought what have I got to lose and I jumped in and did it. While a new mayor and council were elected, turnout was low, less than 30%. Fokker Beckman has lived in Thompson for decades and is the vice president of the local chamber of commerce. He hopes more people cast ballots next time. Only some 27% of the people voted, which is very low. That's a little bit disappointing to me when only one out of four people vote. The Paw and Flin Flon also elected new mayors. Herb Jakes won in the PAW and will serve as the town's mayor for a third time. And in Flin Flon, Roger Armstrong will be the city's next leader, beating two other candidates. Thompson's next mayor and council will be officially sworn in next week. The city will still be the hub of the North, and the wheels will keep on turning. Eric Westhaver, CBC News, Thompson.