Stephen Johnston and Kevin Acton are back at work. Loyal Wooldridge is not.听
The three municipal councillors took leaves of absence to contest the provincial election.听
Acton, the mayor of Lumby, lost his bid as an Independent candidate in the riding of Vernon-Lumby. He said village staff checked with Elections BC on Monday and found out he could return to his mayoral duties even though the final vote has not been declared.听
Johnston, a West sa国际传媒 city councillor, also ran as an Independent, finishing a distant third in the riding of West sa国际传媒-Peachland.听
鈥淵ou haven鈥檛 seen the last of me,鈥 Johnston said Monday in an Instagram post. 鈥淚n fact, I'm going to get right back at it serving my community as a West sa国际传媒 city councillor. And I鈥檓 excited and honoured to do that.鈥
But itsa国际传媒 a different situation in the riding of sa国际传媒 Centre, where Wooldridge finished second. He continues to stay away from City Hall, and did not attend Mondaysa国际传媒 regular meeting.听
The terms of a municipal candidatesa国际传媒 leave of absence to contest a provincial election are up to individual municipalities, City of sa国际传媒 city clerk Laura Bentley said.听
The resolution granted by council on Sept. 9 authorizing Wooldridgesa国际传媒 leave of absence reads: 鈥淭hat council authorize Councillor Wooldridge to take an unpaid leave of absence beginning on Writ Day until after Final Voting Day in the 2024 Provincial General Election.鈥
Final Voting Day was Saturday, Oct. 19. But the final provincial results have not been declared yet, with two mandatory recounts set to begin this week because the margin of victory was less than 100 votes, and almost 50,000 mail-in and absentee ballots must still to be counted. Those results are not expected until Sunday or Monday.听
鈥淲ith the results not yet official, Councillor Wooldridge remains on leave until the outcome is known,鈥 Bentley said. 鈥淗is leave didn鈥檛 include a specific end date, recognizing the different potential outcomes and timelines.鈥
In Penticton, city councillor Amelia Boultbee was elected as the BC Conservative MLA for the riding of Penticton-Summerland.听
Her victory will necessitate the holding of a municipal by-election, as outlined under the Local Government Act, because the next scheduled municipal election is still two years away.听
There is no provision under the Act for the councillor candidate who finished seventh in the 2022 Penticton municipal election to take Boultbee's spot on council.听
