The City of Morden got back to business after Christmas with new faces on council.
The Dec. 20 by-election saw Nancy Penner elected as mayor and Brenda Klassen and Tracey Krause elected as councillors.
Penner won the mayoral race with 1,567 votes, or 83 per cent of ballots cast, while Nicholas Hoeppner received 314 votes.
“It’s very humbling to be elected mayor of Morden, and I have to extend a huge thank you to the citizens of Morden for their overwhelming support and confidence in my ability to fulfill this role,” said Penner, who had resigned her council seat to run for mayor after Brandon Burley stepped down this fall.
“The city, as a community, was so engaged by this by-election,” Penner said. “I thank all of the candidates for putting their names forward for council.
“And I really have to thank Nicholas Hoeppner for putting his name on the ballot for mayor,” she added. “He really shows his commitment to Morden, and his goal of raising interest in the younger population of our community to get involved in the governance of our city was admirable.”
Penner felt her previous experience on council was a primary factor in her favour.
“When you’re looking at a candidate, you’re looking at their experience, whether it’s work experience or experience on council or even experience in the community.”
Penner felt well positioned to get to work, with council already having had a meeting on Dec. 27.
“My first order of business was to be sworn in as mayor,” she noted. “I had been off council for two months, and I had a lot of catch-up ahead of me.
“We are fortunate to have a strong council to build on an already strong council and to have that opportunity to build an even stronger team,” said Penner, who welcomed having two more female councillors at the table alongside her. “To have that diversity and to have such strong diversity … to have strong women who come with strong backgrounds, strong skill sets, and strong community backgrounds.”
In the race for councillor, Klassen earned about 32 per cent of the vote, with 1,146 Mordenites voting for her, while Krause earned 615 votes.
Losing their election bids were Dave Hildebrand (550 votes), Allan Spearman (509 votes), Chris Abrams (413 votes), Megan Giesbrecht (260 votes), and Darlene Wiebe (121 votes).
“I am humbled by the vote of confidence that the people of Morden have given me,” Klassen said. “Thank you all for your support. Also, congratulations to all the candidates who put their name forward.
“I will work hard for you and do my best on council,” she added. “I am so pleased that three strong women won.”
“I’m really grateful that people trusted me enough to vote for me,” said Krause, noting she’s “looking forward to getting started.”
or to the election and seeing Klassen there as well.
“She kind of winked at me and said wouldn’t the three of us make a good addition to council. I was totally in agreement.”
And she sees the new council as being a strong team overall.
“Everybody seems professional and genuinely interested in doing the best they can for Morden, and that’s my interest too. My main interest is in serving everyone and leading Morden in a way that is best for all of the people who live here.”
