Dawson Creek voters embrace Dwaine Dilworth as their newly elected mayor

Dawson Creek voters embrace Dwaine Dilworth as their newly elected mayor

Dilworth captured nearly 50% of the vote, says he's ready to serve his community

Voters in Dawson Creek, B.C., embraced Dwaine Dilworth on Oct. 17 as their new mayor, who won nearly 50 per cent of the ballots cast.

Born and raised in the community, Dilworth said he’s ready to get to work on behalf of residents.

“I want communication from the people. I consider myself a smart guy, but I don't know everything,” he said.

“But working together, getting ideas from the citizens, I think we can come up with great results.”

It’s his first time running in municipal politics. Dilworth says he’s very grateful to his supporters.

"I want to thank Kyle MacDonald for a hard-fought campaign and for the years he's given to our community on council. We may have had different ideas, but we both care deeply about Dawson Creek," Dilworth wrote on social media.

"Congratulations to our newly elected council. I'm looking forward to working with each of you, and thank you to everyone who stepped forward to run for council this year."

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The Mile Zero cairn in Dawson Creek, B.C. Dwaine Dilworth was elected as the city's new mayor on Oct. 17, after a two-candidate race. (Tom Summer/CBC)

Six candidates won councillor seats — an even split between incumbents Mike Sudnik, Gregg Apolonio and Amy Kaempf, and newcomers Judy Kucharuk, Steven Reynolds and Rob Atkinson.

Dilworth and council will be taking on a full portfolio of issues and challenges, including what comes next in the city’s search for a new water supply, which has been in jeopardy after a historic four-year drought in the Kiskatinaw River.

A water pipeline is estimated to cost up to $272 million dollars, though no route has been selected yet.

The end of municipal animal control services was also top of mind for voters, after the previous city council decided to not renew the contract, which is set to expire in December.

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Dilworth said he’s very concerned about the well-being of animals in the city, and is willing to work on a plan to restore services.

“Our animals need care. I'm still in disbelief that it was ended with no plan,” he said.

According to the city, voter turnout was roughly 33 per cent, with 2,870 out of 8,741 eligible voters casting a ballot.

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Tom Summer is a reporter for CBC News based in Fort St. John, B.C. and grew up in the Peace Country in Treaty 8 territory. You can reach him at tom.summer@cbc.ca or at 250-329-4103