SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE
You could hear a pin drop in council chambers when the last ballots were added to build the final count for the 2015 Municipal Election.

Mayor Mark Heyck sits in the seat he won back in Monday's municipal vote. - Evan Kiyoshi French/NNSL photo Election by numbers Elected Mark Heyck (mayor) - 4,479* John Himmelman - 1,411 Rebecca Alty - 3,837* Adrian Bell - 3,573* Linda Bussey - 3,448* Steve Payne - 3,119* Niels Konge - 3,075* Shauna Morgan - 2,608* Rommel Silverio - 2,465* Julian Morse - 2,441* Not Elected Phil Moon Son - 2,213 Dane Mason - 2,088 Marie-Soleil Lacoursiere - 1,988 Jugjit More-Curran - 1,818 Beaton MacKenzie - 1,489 Thom Jarvis - 1,121 Mark Bogan - 664 Source: City of Yellowknife

A few residents popped in throughout the evening to see how the votes were adding up but most of the candidates never made an appearance.

Mayor Mark Heyck came in with his spouse Amy Lea to watch the votes counted in his favour outweigh those cast for John Himmelman, and then declare his victory.

Four of the incumbent councillors won reelection, but a surprise came when votes for first-time candidate Steve Payne outnumbered those cast for Coun. Niels Konge and put Coun. Phil Moon Son out of the running. Rommel Silverio was the only IserveU candidate to win a seat and new candidates Shauna Morgan and Julian Morse were also elected.

Former councillors Bob Brooks and Paul Falvo stopped in throughout the night to check on their old stomping grounds and Marino Casebeer and his daughter, Shiri MacPherson, also visited city hall to see who the new councillors would be. But when the last ballots were carried in the doors and delivered to returning officer Debbie Gillard, no one but a few members of the media and city spokesperson Nalini Naidoo remained in front of the big projector screen.

Coun. Niels Konge said he hosted a gathering of candidates - including the most popular councillor Rebecca Alty, Coun. Linda Bussey and Steve Payne - in his shed while the votes were being counted.

"We were glued to the website," he said. "Rebecca, she won, she kicked ass."

Konge said he felt confident of a win going into the election and wasn't surprised when Payne won more votes than he did.

"The man gets four or five different people through his barber chair every single hour," said Konge. "He talks to more people than anybody just in his day job. I've been so busy with my real work that I didn't have time to campaign."

Konge said the councillors were surprised Moon Son wasn't in the top 8.

"I was a bit surprised that Phil didn't get in. I know he goes out and he knocks on a lot of doors," he said. "But at the end of the day seven people weren't going to get in."

Coun. Rebecca Alty said she's happy with her win. At least 1,400 more votes were cast in this election than were cast in the election of 2012 and Alty said the increase may have been caused by the federal election fervor.

"It's exciting," she said. "It was great to see the voter turnout. People were worried there might be voter apathy, but I think the momentum of the federal election really boosted people to get out and be engaged."

Alty said she hasn't had a chance to dissect the votes, but going in she expected it to be a tight contest.

"I remember sitting in one of the debates and thinking we've got really strong candidates this year," she said. "It'll be a tight race for eighth."

Alty said when it was clear she was the favourite, Konge's nine-year-old daughter, Tegan, crowned her "queen of the council."

"Niels' daughter had a tiara she wanted me to wear," she said.

Alty said the new council will get to work after they've been sworn in on Nov. 2.

"We've got some big things coming up," she said. "With De Beers announcing potentially a bunch of jobs going south, that could be tough on the community."

IserveU candidates and supporters hosted a public event at Elks Lodge to watch the numbers roll in. When Silverio's numbers spiked over those cast for Julian Morse, at least one supporter jeered Morse and called him a name which was reciprocated by cheering from some of the crowd. That was captured on camera and posted online by another media outlet's reporter.

Jeremy Flatt, an IserveU volunteer, told Yellowknifer he was the one who made comments about Morse.

"He was the one we had to beat," said Flatt.

"I'm the most prone to outbursts when I've had five beers."

He said he's since contacted Morse to apologize.

Yesterday, IserveU responded through Twitter.

"Many support IserveU. Some drunker/more exuberant than others. We wish (councillor Morse) and all others the best in their terms," the tweet states.

Morse said the IserveU crowd said some offensive things about him but they were "drinking and under a lot of pressure."

"All that video shows is some people who have been under intense strain for the past few months expressing some raw emotions during the climax of a very tense night. I don't take it personally," Morse wrote in an e-mail.

"I'm really looking forward to working with the IserveU team to see how their system could be used for increased engagement between council and Yellowknifers."

Morse said he's "extremely excited and humbled" to be on council.

He said he's been interested in city politics for years and has thought about running in the past. But it was ultimately Coun. Adrian Bell who talked him into it, he said.

"He said he thought I could win and that he wanted to work with me," he said.

Silverio said he was thrilled when it looked like he was guaranteed a seat.

"I'm pretty excited," he said. "I'm fully energized. We're almost near the end and I'm just thrilled that people are trusting me, so I'm hoping to get in."

In an e-mail to Yellowknifer, Himmelman thanked his supporters.

"It was a pleasure to witness first hand people taking an active interest in ther community," he said.

• with files from James Goldie

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