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Murray Wright elected Mayor of Virden

Murray Wright is Virden’s next mayor, defeating his only challenger Brock Koop by a vote count of 652 to Koop’s 457.

Murray Wright is Virden’s next mayor, defeating his only challenger Brock Koop by a vote count of 652 to Koop’s 457.

There will be several other new faces around the council table, but also some familiar ones - incumbents Tina Williams and Tara Cowan were returned.

Councillors

Whitney Wright – 841 votes

Tina Williams – 807

Travis Penner – 774

Grant Gardiner – 660

Tara Cowan – 614

Karel Munchinsky – 504

Edged off council was Lomer Girardin with 449 votes.

Long wait

The polls closed at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, and most of the candidates chose to wait for results in the lobby of Town Hall with the exception of Brock Koop, Tina Williams, and Travis Penner, who did not attend.

At around 11 p.m. Senior Election Official (SEO) Rhonda Stewart and the ballot scrutineers entered the room, and Stewart announced the results. There were no whoops of victory or obvious signs of disappointment, just a few hugs and handshakes before the tired candidates quickly dispersed.

Murray Wright said during the campaign that his first act if elected would be to establish an office at Town Hall and be a full-time mayor.

He also prioritized the bridge on PTH 257, street repairs and maintenance, reopening the Virden courthouse, and getting financial assistance for the waste water treatment plant, among other commitments.

Good voter turnout

SEO Stewart reported an unofficial voter turnout of 1,120 out of a total of 2,356 potential voters, for a voter turnout rate of 47.5 per cent.  

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