Council inauguration
The inaugural council meeting took the place in the City hall of Salmon Arm on November 7 at 7.00 PM. The mayor and councillors were elected in the municipal election held in October. The results were not surprising. Retired teacher Alan Harrison sustained his position for another four years, together with re-elected councilors Kevin Flynn, Tim Lavery, Debbie Cannon, Sylvia Lindgren and Louise Wallace Richmond. David Gonella is the only new council member, who obviously fit in with the elected group. He took the seat of Chad Eliason, who decided not to run for the council as it is rumoured he may run in the provincial election in 2024.
The ceremony started with an open speech by Alan Harrison. Louis Thomas, Secwepemc knowledge keeper and councillor from Neskolith Indian band followed, encouraging the council for the new term by comparing the way an indigenous council looks after its people and the land to the responsibility now held by the new city council in Salmon Arm. After that, he received a small present from Alan Harrison.
Later on, the mayor and councillors assumed their seats by taking an oath of office under the supervision of the BC provincial judge George Leven in a word: “ I{ the name } do solemnly affirm that I’m qualified to hold the office of mayor {councillor} for the city of Salmon Arm to which I have been elected. I’ve complied with the provision of the local government act and the local election campaign financing act in relation to my election to this office. I will abide by all rules relating to the conflict of interest and the community charter, I will carry out my duty with integrity, I will be accountable for decisions that I make and the actions I will take and of course my duties. I will be respectful of others, I will demonstrate leadership and collaboration, and I will perform the duties of my office in accordance with the law. “; followed by the signatures.
After the oath, the inaugurated members gave speeches expressing their thanks to their families, voters and people who participated in the election. The incumbent councillors thanked citizens for being engaged in the election and for sending the clear message, that they want the city to continue on the same path as in previous years.
When all official processes were concluded, including the signature of the Code of Responsible Conduct Attestation, the participants enjoyed a small gathering with a celebration cake.
The October 15th election was preceded by two advance polls at the city hall. On election day four polling stations operated through out Salmon Arm and it’s outlying areas. There was very low interest in election. Of 15,619 estimated eligible voters only 4,653 exercised their right to vote, or 29.79%. This means over 70% of eligible voters in Salmon Arm for some reason ignored the election which is a very bad signal for the city officials.
There were other issues with the election. The four polling stations did not communicate with each other, so theoretically anyone could vote numerous times in different places without any problem, including voting at the advanced polls as the voters list was created by the “honor system”.
For the counting of the ballots, the city of Salmon Arm follows the bylaw NO. 3673 adopted by the council in February 2008: A bylaw to provide for the determination of various procedures and the use of automated voting machines for the conduct of general local government elections and other voting.
Officials of the city of Salmon Arm used the optical scanner machines AccuVote for the last few elections and this intellectual property is owned by the Dominion Voting system. AccuVote, which has been in use since the late 1980s, is decidedly low-tech: They plug into the wall for electricity but don’t connect to the internet; they rely on memory cards that get programmed before each election by a locally based vendor.
The AccuVote scanner machines from Dominion Voting Systems were used in the Liberal party leadership race in 2013 when Justin Trudeau became Liberal leader. They have also been used in federal and provincial elections right down to the municipal level. [source CBC}. In the November 2020 American presidential election the Accuvote machines were found to have numerous issues counting ballots, especially in New Hampshire.
What is the conclusion? The Declaration of the official election results in the general local election 2022 has been signed and claimed by the Chief Election officer. After the oath, we have officially a “new” mayor and council for another term. The result of the election is valid until proven the opposite.
– DB, CB
