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Municipal Elections 2014  

Rookie cracks Oliver council

One new face will join Oliver Town Council as Petra Veintimilla managed to top the polls on Saturday in a race that included all four incumbents seeking re-election.

Veintimilla, an Oliver business owner, active local volunteer and former president of the South Okanagan Chamber of Commerce, received 899 votes, easily the highest total. Incumbent Mo Doer garnered 837; Larry Schwartzenberger 758; and Jack Bennest 754. David Mattes just missed another term with 721 votes.

Veintimilla told Castanet on Sunday her first priority will be "to learn the ropes and settle in with the team who have been together for a few years now."

Amoung her priorities are making sure there enough funds in the budget for year-round bylaw enforcement. "We have had some problems there in the summer months." She looks forward to "breathing some new life into our town."

Veintimilla said she believed throughout the campaign that she had a decent chance at "getting a seat at the table. ... But it didn't enter my mind that I would come out on top."

She told the Oliver Daily News earlier: “I like to do my homework, I am up for a good debate on matters which affect the Town, and I don’t always go with the flow.”

There was no mayoral race in Oliver as incumbent Ron Hovanes was acclaimed.

 



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