Balsillie keeps Deninu Ku'e chief seat
Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, March 16, 2015
DENINU KU'E/FORT RESOLUTION
Louis Balsillie will get to serve another therm as chief of Deninu Ku'e First Nation.
Balsillie easily won re-election March 12 over two challengers to remain leader of the Fort Resolution-based band.
The chief collected 108 votes, compared to 55 votes for his nearest challenger Gordon Beaulieu. Patrick Simon finished third with 27 votes.
"I'm happy to be chief again," said Balsillie the day after the vote.
At 54-years old, Balsillie has been chief for seven years, and his new term of office will keep him in office four more years. The election results send a strong message from the people, he said.
"They see what the First Nation has done in the last seven years and we're moving ahead, and they're happy with what's going on in the community. We'll continue to do what we're doing."
Four seats on band council were also filled in the March 12 election.
The winning candidates out of a field of six are Robert G. Sayine (113 votes), Patrick Simon (112 votes), Carol Collins (110 votes) and Stanley Louine (95 votes).
The top three contenders among the newly-elected councillors will serve for four years, while Louine will serve for two years. There would normally have been an election for three council seats, but a fourth seat became vacant when a councillor resigned.
On election day, 193 ballots were cast for chief, including three spoiled ballots. There were also 193 ballots cast for council, including two spoiled ballots.
There are 688 eligible voters in the band, and about 125 of them live in Fort Resolution.
Anyone wishing to cast a ballot had to be in Fort Resolution on election day because there was no proxy voting and no voting by mail. Balsillie admitted some band members were upset about that.
However, he said there have been attempts to change the election code in the past, but 135 members are required at a meeting to make any change and nowhere near that number show up, partially because he said the gatherings end up with bickering and arguing.
"If we can just come together and sit together and just work on this code and get it done, then it's passed," he said.
