Chestermere elects new mayor, councillors in wake of city hall drama
Posted Jun 25, 2024 8:41 am.
Last Updated Jun 25, 2024 8:47 am.
Residents of Chestermere have had their voices heard, and have decided on change.
A new mayor and five new councillors were voted into office Monday in a municipal by-election prompted by the improper behaviour of former Mayor Jeff Colvin and Couns. Mel Foat, Blaine Funk and Stephen Hanley.
The four people were stripped of their jobs last year after an investigation ordered by the province and Municipal Affairs Minister Ric McIver found that the city was being mismanaged.
The City of Chestermere is now suing Colvin, Foat, Funk, and Hanley for $650,000, the amount of taxpayer money it alleges was spent improperly.
The four men each put their name forward on Monday’s ballot with the hope of regaining their seats.
None of them were successful.
Instead, Shannon Dean was voted mayor by the residents of the city west of Calgary — capturing 3,559 votes.
The new councillors are Rob Wawrzynowski, who got 3,297 votes, Janelle Sandboe, who got 2,819 votes, Robert Schindler, who got 1,724, Grant Murray, who got 1,631, and Kiran Randhawa, who got 1,574.
The new mayor, Dean, was one of three councillors spared by McIver during the city hall sweep.
Coun. Ritesh Narayan is the only member of the former council who has kept his job. The other councillor who survived, Sandy Johal-Watt, has since taken a job in city administration.
Narayan and his new colleagues will serve until the next municipal election in October 2025.
