If she finishes the four-year term to which she's just been elected, Judy Dahl will be Olds' longest serving mayor.
Dahl received 1,366 votes during the Oct. 21 municipal election, beating out Art Baker (450 votes) and Shirley Shultz (42 votes) for the position.
“I am so grateful. Olds is progressive and healthy. I have faith in this community. The power of the people have spoken. They have made a choice for hope to move forward to build on their hard work. I applaud the community and we will build Olds today, together, for future generations,” she said.
Dahl said she was energized by the campaign. She said she reached out to voters she had never interacted with before. Dahl said she will have an open door to anyone with questions.
“I will be reviewing all those questions with council as a whole and hopefully will be contacting people to come and talk to us,” she said.
Dahl said she sees improving the transportation network – and the ancillary focus on safety – as two of the main issues in the next four years. Town administrators will be focused on engaging not only commercial truck drivers, but pedestrians and bicyclists as well.
“We're hoping to engage all users,” she said.
Dahl welcomed the challenge posed by Art Baker and Shirley Schultz.
“What (an election) does is it sparks the energy and spirit within you to go out and talk to people that you likely would not have stepped outside your box to do,” said.
Art Baker was unavailable for comment when election results were made public.
Mayoral contender Shirley Shultz agrees. She was not surprised by the results of the election but said she had hoped to garner more votes.
“I like politics. And since no one was challenging Judy Dahl for years, I thought I would,” said Shultz.
She said she was disappointed that the entire Olds council was acclaimed this time round. Mary Jane Harper, Harvey Walsh, Mary Anne Overwater, Debra (Debbie) Bennett, Wade Bearchell, and Rudy Durieux will fill the six-person council.
This is Dahl's fourth term as mayor. She resigned her position as a long-term Olds municipal employee in May of 2004 and her first run at public office was that fall. She was sworn in as mayor on Oct. 25, 2004.
She was re-elected for a second term in 2007.
In 2010 she was acclaimed as mayor, having run unopposed.
Returning officer Bill Johnston said a slightly higher percentage of the town's 6,525 eligible voters - 28.5 per cent or 1,858 people- cast ballots in the 2013 municipal election than did in the last municipal election in 2010.
“Advanced polls had a higher than normal amount as well,” he said.
The new council will be on a retreat this weekend before Monday's organizational meeting.
