While Casey Cook wondered if he should have robbed a bank to finance his school board campaign, Michael Ewen celebrated another election win that will see his tenure extend to 35 years.
"I'm absolutely delighted," said Ewen as he partied with supporters at Taverna Greka on Columbia Street. "I think this reaffirms my belief that in New Westminster, people want a positive vision and they don't want an American-style of negative, attack politics. - the people of New Westminster want a positive vision for this city and tonight's results indicate that."
Ewen, the longest serving trustee in the province with 32 years of experience, finished fourth, with 4,795 votes, more than 1,000 behind leading vote-getter Jonina Campbell. He said he's looking forward to a more collaborative board that will be able to reach consensus much easier than in the past three years.
"I think Jonina and Dave (Phelan) bring fresh voices and faces to the table," said Ewen. "I think some of us had some baggage in that the schools weren't built and that hurt me and James (Janzen), - but I look forward to moving ahead with the business of educating kids in New Westminster. I think we'll be able to build consensus much easier."
Cook was subdued even though he easily won re-election.
"They did a much better job getting their vote out," said Cook. "It's not a very satisfying night. - I'm very disappointed for Jim Goring. He was an outstanding trustee for the last three years, and he brought skills and knowledge to the board that will be sorely missed."
Cook said the four labourendorsed candidates benefited greatly from a big-money campaign that allowed them to buy full-page ads in local newspapers and pay for phone banks locally and out east.
"In retrospect, I probably should have robbed a bank," joked Cook. "I think we ran a good campaign, but we were fighting a big machine, a big labour machine."
The biggest underdog on the night wasn't all that disappointed even though he finished last with only 2,337 votes.
"I learned lots on this campaign, and it was very interesting," said James Pepa, who watched results come in at city hall while other candidates thanked him for injecting energy into the campaign. "It was a mad rush for me because I didn't know I'd be running until three days before the filing deadline and I barely got my papers in.
"When I started campaigning, I learned so much because I had a chance to talk to a lot of people. It was a great experience. - So many people came to tell me they appreciated what I was doing, and that goes a long way."
Also happy despite not winning a seat was Voice New Westminster's Brenda McEachern-Keen.
"It's tough because we wanted a (Voice) majority," said McEachern-Keen. "You only run to win, so in that respect, it's disappointing.
"I am happy that I ran a good campaign and this was my first time (running), so I got a good number of votes, just not enough to get in."
McEachern-Keen made a point of congratulating Campbell on her overwhelming win.
"I'd love to work with you, I've heard a lot of impressive things about you," McEachern-Keen told Campbell as the final results came in.
"That was very classy of her," said Campbell. "I really appreciated how genuine that was."
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