RED DEER COUNTY – Jim Wood will serve as the mayor of the rural municipality for another four years.
Unofficially, Wood, who has been mayor since 2010, defeated challenger Debra Hanna by a vote count of 2,311 to 1,181.
In Division 2, incumbent Jean Bota bested challenger Edward Collins by a vote of 383 to 289, while in Division 3 newcomer Dana Depalme squeaked by incumbent Don Church by a slim margin of 356 votes to 352.
Connie Huelsman has unofficially kept her Division 4 seat. The incumbent defeated former councillor David Hoar by a margin of 462 votes to 395.
In Division 6, incumbent Christine Moore held on to her seat by earning 267 votes, compared to 207 for challenger Laura Stephan and 92 for Pam Davidson.
Incumbent Division 1 councillor Phillip Massier was acclaimed, as was Division 5 councillor Richard Lorenz.
According to election guidelines posted on the Red Deer County website, the returning officer may undertake a recount if a candidate, official agent, or scrutineer show grounds that the count of votes is inaccurate. The returning officer may also consider the number of rejected ballots, valid ballots objected to, or any administrative or technical errors. If a recount is requested, a recount application must be made by 4 p.m. on the Wednesday following Election Day.
