Jim Cessford is proud of his team and the campaign his Independents Working for You slate ran.
Cessford finished second in the mayor’s race almost 1,800 votes behind Achieving For Delta’s George Harvie. Two-term councillor Sylvia Bishop of Team Delta finished third followed distantly by independent candidates Moneca Kolvyn, Vytas Vaitkus and Alex Megalos.
“I said right from the start that I would listen to the public and hear what they have to say and then I would do what I could to reflect that,” said Cessford. “The community has spoken and they have said they want George Harvie to be mayor and I support that – I support what the community wants. Congratulations to them.”
Cessford said he has no regrets about the campaign.
“We wouldn’t do anything different. We talked about this as a team and there are no regrets,” he said. “We gave our heart and soul and did our very best in the interests of the community. Our team was great, our signs were great, social media was great, so we accept the results.
“I urge all the residents who supported us to join me in not only congratulating George Harvie and team, but offering our new mayor our hands in friendship and trust that we will support their efforts in the coming years.”
Bishop also said she has no regrets about the campaign.
“We always worked with the resources we had and the direction of the campaign we had laid out and responded along the way to the best of our ability,” said Bishop. “This is the nature of politics. There were six candidates with three running neck and neck for a while, but there can only be one winner, so I have no regrets other than not winning, of course.
“We have to acknowledge the hard work of George Harvie’s team. Quite frankly, Team Delta didn’t get enough votes and that’s why we lost. Democracy is democracy.”
Bishop said she is proud of her time on council.
“It was an honour and a privilege to be elected the first time and an honour to be re-elected in 2014,” she said. “There are many things that I’m very proud of, but I didn’t do them alone, you are only one vote, so it means I was able to collaborate with like-minded councillors to get things done.
“There are lots of things I’m proud of, but I never made a list, because I felt my job was to get out there in the community and make decisions that reflected the community’s desires. I’m very proud of my seven years, but a chapter has closed and another one is opening.”
As to what the future might hold, Bishop said that remains unclear.
“The only commitment I have made to myself is to make no decisions until the end of the year. I’ve had a life that has been rich in opportunities and while I’m disappointed I was not elected mayor, I’m not finished, I just don’t know what the next project is.”
