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Andrea Rondeau column: We’re not done with the election yet

A couple of sharp-eyed readers let us know that we forgot to list all of the new councillors
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Don’t worry dear readers. There’s more to come.

We’ve gotten some great feedback about our wall-to-wall election coverage last Saturday night and Sunday morning. This is the kind of thing reporters find exciting (yes, really) and we were happy to be your one-stop-shop for election night results. It was a particularly interesting election this time around, with lots of changes made, and some interesting status quo decisions, too.

Speaking of the status quo, I’m not sure how I feel about the fact that all of the elected school board belonged to one slate, speaking with one voice. It makes me uncomfortable as it seems unlikely to create any lively debate. Where will the new ideas come from? The different points of view? I believe everyone elected to the board is sincere and hard-working, with the best interests of the students at heart, but I hope they will be willing to break ranks and make some waves. Our education system is far from perfect, and complacency doesn’t breed change. It’s the whole reason why I’ve always thought it preferable to have an entire board and not a single trustee, as the district did after the en masse firing of the board in 2012. That period was quiet and well-ordered, but not a monument to democracy in action.

It was also interesting that while Lake Cowichan voted in a new mayor, over an incumbent and someone who had been sitting on council, they also voted to return all of their other incumbents to the council table, plus another former councillor.

We’ll just have to wait and see how these decisions shake out.

But it’s not all completely in the rear view yet.

A couple of sharp-eyed readers let us know that we forgot to list all of the new councillors for the City of Duncan. So for the record: along with Mayor Michelle Staples, and councillors Tom Duncan and Jenni Capps, the new Duncan council consists of Garry Bruce, Stacy Middlemiss, Carol Newington and Bob Brooke. Sorry for the omission and congratulations, guys.

We’ve also had a couple of inquiries from people living in the Cowichan Valley Regional District electoral areas, wondering if we’re going to have more about their newly elected directors. Never fear, the answer is yes, indeed we are. We simply couldn’t get to everything in the few working hours between election night and deadline day. We plan in the coming weeks to speak to each of the new area directors and give their new constituents a feel for what the plans are going forward. You’re on notice, area directors (ominous Halloween laugh) (just kidding).