More than 69% of the electorate in Area C chose Robyn Mawhinney as their new Regional Director on October 15. She learned this from an unexpected source. Mawhinney and her team were sitting in the Heriot Bay Inn, while they waited for the election results to be announced on Saturday night. The scrutineer from her team had not yet arrived and they were enjoying a nice glass of wine.
“I got a phone call from Mark Doll who congratulated me on my win,” she said. “I didn’t know the numbers yet.”
Related: an in depth series of articles profiling Robyn Mawhinney and her campaign
Someone photographed the moment that an ecstatic Mawhinney embraced her campaign manager. She had received 823 votes to Doll’s 368.
“I want to say that this campaign, and everything that has happened, is because of the amazing team of folks who have had my back and been on my team attending meetings, editing, suggesting even chauffeuring me by vote. I’m so grateful to have had so many folks sending me messages of support and kind words of encouragement. I really have felt like the community was behind me and it feels like that today too,” she explained.
“I definitely want to congratulate Mark Doll for his robust campaign. He proved his integrity in the way that he managed difficult situations. I look forward to working together with him on Island projects. I also want to congratulate his wife, Jen Doll. Mark had an amazing and dedicated campaign manager, which was his wife, and she did great work and there were many thoughtful conversations which were had.”
Marc Doll sent a written statement: “Robyn and I talked on the phone once we had the election results, and I know Robyn’s commitment to our islands is heartfelt and founded on goodwill for all community members. Best wishes to you Robyn, as you take on this new role.”
“We saw such an impressive level of community engagement during the last few months, and I encourage everyone to continue to stay involved in the community conversation — no matter who you thought was the best candidate for Regional Director.”
“Thanks to everyone who got involved in the election campaign. If you hosted an event, attended an event, read articles or watched all-candidate debates, contacted the candidates with questions and suggestions, or discussed the future with your neighbours, you were participating in our democracy. Way to go!”
“Thanks to local news outlets for providing news coverage. They play a vital role in keeping people informed.”
“Thanks to my campaign team for their advice, support and encouragement — and for living up to our pledge to keep things positive.”
Doll concluded, “And biggest thanks to my wife, Jen, my daughters and my parents. You amazed me with your stamina and creativity that kept the farm running and made sure we had time for family fun during this campaign.You are brave, strong, and wonderful — and I love you with everything I’ve got.”
Mawhinney commented on the larger picture, “This election has brought change to Strathcona Regional District board and to the Campbell River Council, which holds five seats at the SRD table. That is significant. I’m really excited to collaborate with the other Electoral Area Directors and community representatives to tackle big issues that will be for the betterment of all of our communities and our homes.”
“I’m really happy that there are going to be some people there that do have that experience. Gerald Whalley is still retaining his seat at the Electoral Area Services Committee (EASC) and as an Electoral Area Director, and I think that’s going to be really invaluable, otherwise, there’s three new directors in the Electoral Area Services Committee. So, to speak to the great amount of change that we’re seeing, I guess folks are ready for some new faces and some new energy, and I’m happy to be one of those. It’ll be interesting to see how everything unfolds.”
Q/What do you intend to do first?
Doll replied, “While I won’t be at the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) table, you can find me volunteering with many local organizations in our tight-knit community. I’m looking forward to continuing to work together with neighbours, friends and family to do amazing things for this wonderful place we call home.”
Mawhinney said, “I’m certainly looking forward to digging into the role of Director. I believe there are some training sessions in the first few weeks, and then we move into the budget process. I want to be sure that Area C is represented fairly in this process, so I’ll be really focusing on that as well. And we’ve talked about this before.”
“I, as a Director want my decisions to be tempered. With input from a spectrum of the community. So I’ll be working on connecting and reaching out to the community, looking for representatives of demographics and interest groups for the advisory council that I intend to create.”
“I’m so grateful and thank you all so much. I’m really excited to start doing the work of Regional Director and advocating on important island issues.”
Top image credit: Robyn Mawhinney standing on the shore – Photo by Carla of Limesoda Photography.
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