As we near the end of another civic election – and cover the aftermath – I’m packing up my election files. I’ve dug a few files out of my archives for various reasons during the campaign.
Technology has changed a lot since I covered my first election, but I still keep paper files filled with press releases, brochures, etc.
Take these beauties from the 1993 municipal election in New Westminster. You’ll spot some familiar faces in the mix – some of them are a bit younger and others have changed roles in the 21 years since that trip to the polls.
See that guy pledging to cut the mayor’s salary in half? That’s 1993 mayoral candidate James Bell, who has gone on to run for both city council and school board in the 2011 and 2014 elections.
The Elect Casey Cook brochure was part of his campaign to get elected to city council. It worked – he won in 1993 and continued to serve on city council until 2005, when he lost to incumbent Mayor Wayne Wright in his bid for mayor. Cook entered a different political arena, when he was elected to school board in 2008.
(As Record readers know, this past weekend Wright lost his bid for a fifth term as mayor and Cook was re-elected to a third term on school board in the Nov. 15 civic election.)
Prior to this year’s election, 15-year councillor Betty McIntosh announced she was retiring from politics, having served five terms on council. Back in 1993, she was a candidate for school board – winning a seat on election night but losing it after a recount was held. After that failed attempt at school board, McIntosh ran for council.
