After Battleford council members announced, one by one, they were not running for re-election it became clear the new council would have a different composition than the one that served from 2009 to 2012.
Specifically, the mayor and four councillors announced they would not seek reelection, with one councillor, Derek Mahon, eventually running unopposed for mayor.
At first, there were nine candidates for Battleford council.
The withdrawal of Christopher Bajak before the withdrawal deadline left eight names on the ballot, but Amber Nelson would later announce her withdrawal as well, leaving Battleford residents with a choice of seven candidates for six positions.
Three of the candidates had previous council experience.
Susan McLean-Tady was running as an incumbent, and David George and Gorgon Yarde had both spent multiple terms representing Battleford.
When all the votes were counted around 9 p.m. Wednesday, Amber Nelson, who remained on the ballot, was in last place, leaving the election as a choice between the remaining seven candidates.
McLean-Tady received the most support with 373 votes, guaranteeing her a return to council.
Nudged out of a council seat was Albert Blais, who received 218 votes.
Earning the other five seats on council were Gordon Yarde (with 265 votes), David George (266), Ames Leslie (271), Shelley Boutin-Gervais (305) and Doug Laing (323).
Poor weather and new voter ID restrictions, together with a lack of choice may have decreased voter turnout.
The total number of people who voted, 473, was around 16 per cent of the total number of eligible voters for Battleford, estimated around 3,000. This represents a decrease of around 300 votes from the last election, in which 772 people voted out of a smaller pool of eligible voters.
The new council will work with incoming mayor Derek Mahon, who was elected by acclamation.
The mayor and all incoming councillors will be sworn in at their first council meeting at Battleford Town Hall Nov. 5 at 7 p.m.
