It’s election night in Abbotsford. Follow along with The Abbotsford News as we report live from Matsqui Centennial Auditorium (MCA) throughout the evening. The public is invited to come by and watch as poll results are posted on the big screen.
7:50 p.m.:
Doors are now open at MCA, as voters and election candidates wait for the polls to close at 8 p.m. and for the results to start to be posted. A few of the candidates who are on hand so far include Sandy Blue, Kelly Chahal, Patricia Ross, Dao Tran, Steve Pimm, Mike Rauch, Les Barkman and Freddy Latham.
8:05 p.m.:
The polls are now closed. Election results are expected to start being posted in about 15 minutes. More candidates are now at MCA, including Simon Gibson, Stan Petersen, Mark Warkentin, Shirley Wilson, Phil Anderson, Jas Anand, Gurnoor Sidhu and Preet Rai.
8:15 p.m.:
Still waiting for the initial results to start being posted. No sign yet of any of the mayoral candidates. Incumbent school trustee candidates Shirley Wilson and Stan Petersen shake hands and wish each other luck. Wilson is seeking her sixth term as a trustee and, if re-elected, will be the longest serving trustee on the board of education.
8:24 p.m.:
Mayoral candidate Manjit Sohi has arrived and is greeted by his supporters.
8:33 p.m.:
First poll results have come in, showing Ross Siemens with 60 per cent of the votes counted so far in the mayor’s race, ahead of Manjit Sohi with 35 per cent, Dave Pellikaan with three per cent and Gaspar with two per cent.
Leading the councillors’ race so far is Dave Sidhu, followed by Les Barkman, Patricia Ross, Kelly Chahal, Patricia Driessen, Dave Loewen, Mark Warkentin and Simon Gibson. But we’re still early in the counting.
8:42 p.m.:
The next set of results have been posted. So far, 7,463 votes have been tabulated, with Siemens having taken an even bigger lead over Sohi – 4,893 to 2,171.
There are 21 candidates in the running for a council seat, with eight seats open, including the ones vacated by Siemens (to run for mayor) and Brenda Falk (who did not seek re-election). New faces currently appearing in the top eight are Patricia Driessen and Mark Warkentin. Incumbent Sandy Blue is in ninth spot right now.
In the trustee race, there are seven seats up for grabs. Incumbent Preet Rai is currently in the lead. New faces in the top seven are Mike Rauch and Jared White, who are running together under the “Abbotsford Partners in Education” banner, and Rupi Kanda-Rajwan.
8:56 p.m.:
Mayoral candidate Ross Siemens has now entered the building.
9:05 p.m.:
Siemens remains in the lead with 64 per cent of the 19,963 votes tabulated so far. Sohi is at about 31 per cent.
In the council race, Sidhu remains in the lead, followed by Patricia Ross, Les Barkman, Driessen, Warkentin, Kelly Chahal, Dave Loewen and Simon Gibson.
In the battle for a trustee spot, Rai remains in the lead, followed by Korky Neufeld, Shirley Wilson, Stan Petersen, Rauch, White and Kanda-Rajwan.
9:12 p.m.:
Tabulating is almost done, with only four more returning offices left to post results.
9:34 p.m.:
Ross Siemens is declared mayor with 16,037 votes, compared to 7,705 for Sohi, 627 for Pellikaan and 529 for Gaspar.
Winning councillors (in order) are: Sidhu, Ross, Barkman, Driessen, Warkentin, Chahal, Lowen and Gibson.
Winning trustees (in order) are: Rai, Neufeld, Wilson, Petersen, Rauch, White and Kanda-Rajwan.
(Note: These are the unofficial results and changes could occur, in some cases, in the coming days.)