Sue McKortoff celebrates after being elected as the new mayor of Osoyoos by a landslide. With 1,285 votes, she was nearly 1,000 votes ahead of second-place finisher Ray Vandenberg. McKortoff, who served as a councillor on the last council, is the first female mayor of Osoyoos. (Richard McGuire photo)
For the first time in the history of the Town of Osoyoos, there will be a female mayor after incumbent town councillor Sue McKortoff captured the mayor’s seat in a landslide victory during Saturday’s municipal election.
Joining McKortoff around council table will be incumbent C.J. Rhodes and three newcomers – Carol Youngberg, Jim King and Mike Campol.
It will also be the first time in the town’s history that there will be two women on council.
McKortoff received 1,285 votes to easily win the mayoralty race, finishing almost 1,000 votes ahead of former town councillor Ray Vandenberg, who received 290 votes.
Mayor candidate Doug Pederson finished with only 54 votes.
Rhodes and Youngberg finished in a dead heat with 1,299 votes each to lead the seven candidates running for the four spots on council. Campol finished in third place with 1,073 votes, while King grabbed the fourth and final spot garnering 1,050 votes.
Former mayor and longtime town councillor John Slater, who was also the MLA for Boundary Similkameen, finished a distant fifth with 626 votes.
Sy Murseli failed in his seventh attempt to win a seat on town council as he received 458 votes, while newcomer Jean Clarke, who is Vandenberg’s life partner, finished with 294 votes.
McKortoff said she was confident heading into the election and is happy local citizens voted overwhelmingly in favour of making her the town’s first female mayor.
“I was confident heading up to a point, but you really have no idea what’s going to happen on election day,” she said. “I talked to a lot of people on the street over the past several weeks and I felt I had good support heading into the election and I’m just glad that the people have chosen to have me as their next mayor.”
Having three newcomers to municipal politics on the new council is extremely exciting, said McKortoff.
“I’m really glad that C.J. was voted back in because he and I know about the process and how things work and then we have these three new councillors who are going to bring in some new energy and new ideas,” she said. “It’s going to be very exciting leading this new council and I can’t wait to get started.”
McKortoff, who worked as a teacher in Osoyoos for almost 35 years before retiring, said she thoroughly enjoyed her first term on town council and believes she has developed the leadership and listening skills to become a respected and well-liked mayor.
She follows in the footsteps of her great grandfather, Edward Frederick Clarke, who was the mayor of Toronto from 1889 to 1893.
McKortoff said she’s thrilled the residents of Osoyoos voted in favour of building a new fire hall in our community.
“I’m really pleased that this project is going to move ahead,” she said. “I just think it’s a really important project for our town.
“A lot of people worked very hard on this for the past seven years and while it may be an expensive project, it’s one that is going to provide benefits to all of our residents for the next 50 years.
“One of the first things this new council is going to approve is getting the contract in place to build our new fire hall. I’m excited about that.”
McKortoff said she has worked closely with Youngberg, King and Campol on various community projects and believes they have some excellent and progressive ideas that will benefit our community moving forward.
Youngberg was thrilled to have received such strong support from the local electorate during her inaugural foray into municipal politics.
“To finish tied for the most votes certainly wasn’t something I was expecting,” she said. “I just wanted to finish in the top four and I’m very glad I did.”
Youngberg put together a team of dedicated and hard working friends and colleagues and they worked tirelessly for several weeks heading into election day, she said.
“If you don’t have a great group of people who are as committed as you are, it’s very difficult to get the kind of support you need to get elected,” she said. “I had a tremendous team and every one of them worked very hard and we accomplished our goal.”
Youngberg said it will be exciting to be part of a new council that features a new mayor and three new councilors.
“There’s a lot of new blood and there will be a lot of new ideas on how to move our community forward,” she said. “I’m really looking forward to being part of this new team.”
Campol said he was confident heading into the election, but realized there were several qualified candidates and he wasn’t sure how the vote would turn out.
“I honestly didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said. “At the end of the day, the four of us who got elected finished well ahead of the rest of the pack so that sends a clear message that the members of this community are comfortable with the new team they have selected.”
Campol believes his commitment to making Osoyoos a better place to live through his leadership in founding Spirit of the Game, an organization that raises money so children can afford to participate in minor sports and recreational activities, and chair of the committee that organized the inaugural Desert Live Music Festival, paid off handsomely on election day.
“I think I’ve shown I’m committed to this community and I’m really looking forward to making a difference in improving our community as a member of council,” he said.
McKortoff proved to be a very competent and popular councillor during her first three years in office and he has no doubt she will continue her good work as mayor, said Campol.
Rhodes said he’s very pleased to be returning to council for a third-consecutive term.
“I was confident heading into the election, but confidence will take you only so far and then you face the harsh reality that it’s up to individual voters to show their confidence in you,” he said. “I’m just excited to be returning to council and to be able to continue doing good work for our community.”
The new council, led by McKortoff, have all shown a commitment to making Osoyoos a great place to live and he’s convinced the newly-elected team is ready to continue making decisions that will improve the quality of life for local residents, said Rhodes.
King, who fell only 59 votes short of earning a spot on council during the 2011 municipal election, said it is very rewarding to finally have earned a spot on Osoyoos town council.
“I’m very pleased and very excited … especially after coming up just short three years ago,” he said.
King agrees that his many years of community volunteerism paid off handsomely with the electorate.
“I met a lot of people during the campaign and many of them commented that they were impressed with my community involvement as a volunteer,” he said. “They noticed my commitment to this town and it definitely helped me get elected.”
Stu Wells, who will step down after spending the past six years as mayor, said he’s very impressed with McKortoff and the new team of councillors.
“These are all people who have shown their commitment to our town,” he said. “If there is any shortcoming, it’s that the new council might be a little green or inexperienced, but we were all green once and I’m sure they will become heavily involved in the process and learn what they have to learn in a very short period of time.
“This is a very impressive group of people and I think they will form a very good council.”
McKortoff and Rhodes are excellent communicators and will be able to assist Campol, Youngberg and King in learning everything they need to know to become effective councillors very quickly, he said.
KEITH LACEY
Osoyoos Times
Carol Youngberg (left) and Sue McKortoff congratulate each other after results are announced. McKortoff won as mayor by a landslide. Youngberg tied incumbent C.J. Rhodes at 1,199 votes in the top spot among the new councillors. (Richard McGuire photo)
Carol Youngberg (left) and Sue McKortoff congratulate each other after results are announced. McKortoff won as mayor by a landslide. Youngberg tied incumbent C.J. Rhodes at 1,199 votes in the top spot among the new councillors. (Richard McGuire photo)
A board shows the results of the vote for the four councillors. Incumbent C.J. Rhodes and newcomer Carol Youngberg tied for the top spot at 1.199 votes each. Also elected were Mike Campol and Jim King. (Richard McGuire photo)
Vote totals show that Sue McKortoff was elected mayor by a landslide. She had 1,285 votes while second-place finisher Ray Vandenberg had 290. Fringe candidate Doug Pederson managed 54 votes. A bylaw to borrow money for a new fire hall was approved with 913 in favour and 667 opposed. (Richard McGuire photo)
