November 15, 2014 - 9:46 PM Charlotte Helston Info-Tel Multimedia
VERNON - Political newcomer Akbal Mund has done what few mayoral candidates ever succeed at: Winning a mayor's seat without ever having been a councillor. Mund, a prominent local businessman, succeeded Mayor Rob Sawatzky, who announced in July he wouldn't seek another term. Mund, known for his involvement in local events and fundraisers, took home 3714 votes Saturday night. Runners up were Victor Cummings, with 3089 votes and Mary Jo O’Keefe with 1312 votes. Mund was at the Kalamalka Rotary Dream Auction Saturday night when results started coming in. “People were like, I think you’re winning,” Mund says. He tried not to pay too much attention to social media as the numbers trickled in, preferring to wait for the final results. “There’s a lot of excitement,” Mund says. “I don’t think it has sunk in 100 per cent yet.” Mund, surrounded by friends and supporters at the Best Western Vernon Lodge, says he can’t wait to get started. “I think people were looking for change. I think they saw that I was the person who could give them the change they were looking for,” Mund says. There’s little change around the rest of the council table, with incumbent councillors Brian Quiring, Bob Spiers, Juliette Cunningham and Catherine Lord re-elected. New faces include Dalvir Nahal and Scott Anderson, neither of whom have ever served on city council. Anderson ran unsuccessfully for the role of MLA in the last provincial election.
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