Langley Township is often called a “community of communities,” and each neighbourhood showed its preferences in voting in the municipal elections on Oct. 15.
In the running for mayor were incumbent councillor Eric Woodward – the winner and now mayor-elect – incumbent councillor Blair Whitmarsh, former Langley East Liberal MLA Rich Coleman, and former two-time councillor Michelle Sparrow.
At almost every polling place, Woodward was in the lead, followed by Whitmarsh, Coleman, and Sparrow.
However, Woodward’s victory wasn’t evenly distributed.
Whitmarsh had a slim lead over Woodward at just one polling place – James Hill Elementary, in Murrayville. Whitmarsh took 649 votes to the 622 Woodward received.
Other polling places had the top three candidates relatively close together. At rural Coghlan Community Hall, north of Aldergrove, Woodward led with 108 votes, closely followed by Whitmarsh with 96.
At the Aldergrove Community Secondary polling place, Coleman narrowly beat Whitmarsh for second place in the polls – 330 votes to 327 – but Woodward was still well ahead with 544.
READ ALSO: Langley Township: Eric Woodward declared mayor
But in early voting, Woodward was well into the lead – 2,886 votes in the seven pre-election day polls to 1,460 for Whitmarsh, 1,220 for Coleman, and 612 for Sparrow.
Woodward also had sizeable support at polling places in northwest Langley.
At Alex Hope Elementary in Walnut Grove, Woodward received 634 votes, more than the total of votes for Whitmarsh and Coleman put together.
It was the same story at Lynn Fripps Elementary in Willoughby, where Woodward received 852 votes, compared to 347 for Whitmarsh and 295 for Coleman. At R.C. Garnett Demonstration School in southern Willoughby, Woodward took 732 votes to 420 for Whitmarsh, 410 for Coleman, and 296 for Sparrow.
James Kennedy Elementary’s polling place saw Sparrow make a stronger showing, coming third with 305 votes, and pushing Coleman, with 283, to fourth place. In general, the former two-time councillor trailed other candidates at most polling places.
Many of the campaign promises made by Woodward’s Contract with Langley slate focused on fast-growing areas of the Township, especially Willoughby. Improving roads and building more sports facilities and infrastructure were goals that seemed to resonate with voters in the increasingly urbanized northwest corner of the Township.
Although Langley City has its own neighbourhoods, voting on election day all takes place in one location, at the Timms Community Centre.
Have a story tip? Email: matthew.claxton@langleyadvancetimes.com
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