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.
After months of controversy, the residents of Osoyoos also spoke out in favour of building a new fire hall.
More than 900 residents voted in favour of a bylaw to borrow $5.962 million to build the new fire hall, while 667 voted against the borrowing bylaw.
Property owners in the Town of Osoyoos will only be on the hook for $4 million of those costs as a deal has already been tentatively approved for the Osoyoos Indian Band and the Osoyoos Rural Fire Protection District will contribute $1.9 million towards the construction of a new fire hall.
The $4 million will be repaid over 30 years and will cost local taxpayers about $3.40 per month if they own a home with an average assessed price of $370,000.
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 1,199 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 councilors 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.
Voter turnout on Saturday was believed to be a record high for a municipal election in Osoyoos with volunteers workers commenting their were long lineups throughout the day and evening at the Sonora Community Centre.
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)
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)
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)
