By Katie Ryan
Change isn’t just in the air, it’s now in motion. According to tentative results, Jeff Mulligan was elected as the new mayor of Lloydminster.
“Rest assured I’ll get to work tomorrow and we’ll begin to shape this city the way we all envision and reach its full potential over the next many years,” he said upon learning of his victory to the crowd gathered at Lloydminster Golf and Country Club clubhouse.
“This is a point in time where we can take a very good city and make it great. Let’s all come together and do that.”
Mulligan defeated Baker with 2,141 votes to 1,802. Forty-three per cent of the 4,228 voters that cast a ballot for mayor chose Mulligan. Robert Rody had 285.
“All I can say to Lloydminster is that they have voted now, have sent a clear message that it is time to do a few things and really set a wave of change in motion. And I'll begin to do that tomorrow morning.”
The results were a see-saw battle for anyone who was following online or was at one of the campaign headquarters in person. Baker had an early lead after one poll, while Mulligan inched ahead after four polls reported a few minutes later.
“It’s kind of overwhelming, a little bit bittersweet in that Mayor Baker was a good friend and a big supporter of mine. He has given 15 years, I believe now, to our city. Certainly he has gotten us to a point where we now have a launch pad to take our city to much better heights and much higher places,” said Mulligan.
“All I can say to Lloydminster is that they have voted now, have sent a clear message that it is time to do a few things and really set a wave of change in motion. And I'll begin to do that tomorrow morning.”
Baker had been mayor in Lloydminster for three terms. Mulligan said what pushed him ahead of the other candidates is his commitment to public input.
“I think it's opening City Hall back up, engaging people in shaping our communities future,” he said of what made his campaign stand out.
“I don't want to underestimate the value of the internet presence and the people in their networks and their commitment, and just people who went door to door on our behalf. I think what put it over the top is people saying it's time to build on the great foundation that is there.”
While Mulligan and his supporters were excited for the victory and the next three years, the new mayor said that in future elections he would like to see more residents casting their ballots.
“I want to thank everybody here, I know people worked very hard. It seems like an awful lot of work to only have that many people vote, but it's something we need to work on,” said Mulligan.
“I think if we open City Hall up, if we engage people, if we get people involved in shaping our city maybe we can have double that many people vote next time and get involved and care about the future of our city.”
Mulligan said at the top of his agenda as the Border City's new mayor is bringing council together and building a great team.
“I am going to do some work with them to make sure we have a solid team and we have open communication, and that everyone's input is highly valued,” he continued.
COUNCIL MEMBERS
Larry Sauer (3,322), Robert Saunders (3,154), Alan Cayford (2,960), T.J. Altman (2,737), Allan Park (2,682) and Herb Flieger (2,466) were leading for the six spots. Clarence Webber (2,128) was in seventh. Check www.lloydminstersource.com for all the latest up to date information and reaction on the mayoral race, council election and both school boards.
– With files from Colin Budd
Photo caption: Jeff Mulligan addresses supporters at the Lloydminster Golf and Country Club clubhouse after tentative results Wednesday night declared him the city’s new mayor. – Katie Ryan Photo