LeBlanc wins recount in draw by lot

Alan LeBlanc has won a second term on Village of Pemberton council after his name was selected in a draw by lot conducted by a judge in North Vancouver court on Wednesday morning (Nov. 30).

LeBlanc was tied with challenger Niki Vankerk for the fourth and final seat at the table following the Nov. 19 election, as both had 308 votes apiece, which led to Wednesday's judicial recount.

After the judge determined all ballots were valid and a tie still needed to be broken, the winner was selected in the draw.

"They put our names into a fancy wastepaper basket and Al LeBlanc's name was pulled for the spot on council," Vankerk said shortly after the result was made final.

LeBlanc could not be reached for comment by press time.

It was a tough way for the election to end for Vankerk, who was initially leading by one vote over LeBlanc when the unofficial results came out on voting day, but a recount before the official results were declared revealed the tie.

"I'm pretty disappointed not to be on council, but it came down to a random draw and I didn't have the luck today. That's how it goes," she said. "I did wish, in general, that there would be a mixture of genders on council. I'm a little disappointed that it's an all-male council, but I'm sure they're all going to do their best for the community."

Vankerk said she would consider running again in the future.

LeBlanc and the rest of the new council will be sworn in Tuesday night (Dec. 6) in council chamber