There will be a new face in a mayor’s seat in the West Shore.
Challenger Rob Martin defeated two-term Mayor Carol Hamilton in Colwood.
“This means the world to me. Had I lost I would have been really upset, not about myself but because I was so excited about the potential for Colwood for the next four years,” Martin said Saturday night.
Martin, who sat as a councillor in Colwood for the past seven years, mounted a strong campaign, exhorting voters to consider him a vote for Colwood’s future as he advocated for a stronger role for business in the municipality.
Martin took 57.4 per cent of the vote, with Hamilton landing 41.4 per cent.
Martin said the message that resonated with voters was the municipality’s reliance on its residential tax base.
“Ninety-three per cent of our tax base is residential. We really need to have more commercial in our community,” he said.
“We have seen our neighbour, Langford, grow and develop and be able to do things in their community because they built a strong commercial base. We haven’t done that to this point,” Martin said.
Hamilton was the lone West Shore mayor to fall in the election.
Stew Young, who has served as mayor of Langford for the past 26 years, will remain in place for the next four years at least, after a landslide election win.
Young captured 81.9 per cent of the 4,812 votes cast, beating challenger Robert Fraser.
The result comes as no surprise as Young’s popularity in the municipality has grown steadily as Langford itself has grown, added new services and amenities, and drawn young families to one of the region’s more affordable living spaces.
Young’s message of maintaining Langford as a vibrant place to work and live clearly resonated with the voters, resulting in the lopsided win. His pledge to continue working to cut red tape and fight the downloading of responsibilities and costs from the federal and provincial governments hit the right chord with voters.
Young was not the only familiar face returned to the mayor’s office on the West Shore.
John Ranns was acclaimed as mayor in Metchosin and Ken Williams was acclaimed in Highlands.
David Screech was acclaimed as mayor of View Royal.
It was a closer fight in Sooke, but incumbent Mayor Maja Tait managed to hold off challengers Kevin Pearson and Mick Rhodes to keep her job.
Tait, who garnered 56.4 per cent of the vote, ran on a platform of pushing for an alternative route to Highway 14, which is periodically shut down due to collisions and weather, and to ensure emergency services keep pace with growth in the area.
Pearson, a two-term councillor, came second with 39.8 per cent of the vote after a strong campaign in which he vowed to use his retirement as an opportunity to dive into dealing with the community’s needs from the mayor’s chair.
Meanwhile, Margaret (Gery) Lemon will be the newcomer on View Royal’s four-person council.
She will join incumbents Damaina Kowalewich, John Rogers and Ron Mattson.
