By Staff Writer - Abbotsford News
Published: November 19, 2011 8:00 PM
Updated: November 19, 2011 11:46 PM

by Kevin MILLS
and Neil Corbett

Abbotsford's election results are in, and both the Stave Lake water project and incumbent mayor George Peary have been defeated.

Local chiropractor Bruce Banman tallied 13,837 votes to Peary’s 12,694. A cheer went up from Banman’s many supporters at city hall with each poll showing him in the lead.

The Stave Lake project was rejected by 74 per cent of voters, and both men said the unpopular project may have been Peary’s undoing.

“It’s a bit overwhelming,” said Banman in the wake of his win. “I realize that a lot of times people don’t necessarily vote for you, they are voting against something else.

“I’ve got three years to prove to the citizens of this city that they did not make a mistake.”

Banman said it was an emotional night. He had an early lead, but Peary pulled in front after the first few polls.

“The lead was reestablished after the fifth poll and then it just grew ... I was actually thinking I could probably win this thing.”

He said he has a huge learning curve in front of him and he’ll make a few mistakes, but he’s ready to work for the city.

“I can’t run this city, I have to lead this city with a team. I can’t do this alone, I’m not capable of really running a city. I’m a chiropractor, what do I know about running a city? We have city managers for that. But I can lead a team,” said Banman.

Peary said he will work with Banman to ensure a smooth transition.

“My head is bloodied, but it is unbowed. I leave with no regrets,” said Peary.

“I was a champion for the P3 water project, and it went down dramatically. It was way, way worse than I thought it would be.”

Asked what his plans were for the future, Peary said "I will be a lot better grandfather to my grandchildren. I’m looking forward to retirement.”

Gerda Peachey finished a distant third in the mayor’s race, with eight per cent of the vote. Meghann Coughlan and Travis Daleman are fourth and fifth respectively, sharing about 10 per cent of the vote.

The eight council members are Patricia Ross, Henry Braun, Les Barkman, Simon Gibson, Bill MacGregor, Dave Loewen, John Smith and Moe Gill.

The top vote-getter was again Ross, with 19,710 votes. Henry Braun was second, as the newcomer to local politics garnered 15,649.



All the incumbents are returning, with Braun handily taking the seat vacated by Lynne Harris, who did not run.



School trustee winners are Cindy Schafer, Stan Petersen, Shirley Wilson, Korky Neufeld, John R. Sutherland, Preet Rai and Rhonda Pauls.



Polls closed at 8 p.m. in municipal elections across B.C., and Abbotsford’s results are coming in.



Voter turnout was 39 per cent, with 33,303 ballots cast out of 85,120 eligible voters.

In Mission, Ted Adlem defeated incumbent mayor James Atebe. Adlem is a member of the Citizens for Responsible Municipal Government team.