Karrouze congratulates Ward 1 winner

The only incumbent Brandon city councillor who lost in Wednesday’s election said she had the “tremendous honour and privilege” to serve over the last four years.

Heather Karrouze represented Ward 1 for one term before being ousted by political newcomer Ron Shaluk in a close race.

Shaluk received 688 votes — 51.9 per cent — compared to Karrouze’s 639.

“I have loved the work and the many lovely people I have met along the way during the last four years,” Karrouze said in a text message.

Karrouze congratulated Shaluk and said she wishes him “all the best as he embarks on this new journey and hope that he finds his time at the table as fulfilling as I have.”

She declined an interview request.

Karrouze was first elected in Ward 1 in 2022 with 37 per cent of the vote in a five-person race after the seat was left vacant when Jeff Fawcett ran for mayor.

The Sun also spoke with two re-elected councillors it didn’t have time to reach Wednesday evening before press time.

Shawn Berry (Ward 7) was re-elected for a fifth term with 66.7 per cent of the vote, defeating Quentin Robinson 970-485.

Berry said he is “really grateful” for the support, especially since he hasn’t run a campaign since 2010, having been acclaimed three elections in a row.

“For me, it’s really encouraging to see that that many people have confidence in me to do another four years, especially when you got such a strong candidate that I was running against like I did with Quentin,” Berry said.

“To me, that’s a really strong message.”

He said he thinks his work ethic and timeliness in responding to residents’ concerns resonated with voters, adding there is still room for improvement, as 485 people voted for the challenger.

“Obviously there’s something there. There could be various reasons for it, but it always makes you in your mind say, ‘OK, maybe there’s some things I’m not doing well enough where I need to do better.’ I’ve just got to find out what that is,” Berry said.

He said pushing for water main upgrades and drainage, among other things, will be his priorities.

In Ward 8, Jason Splett was re-elected with 67.6 per cent of the vote, receiving 618 votes to Ketan Patel’s 202 and Dhara Patel’s 94.

Splett said he’s “ecstatic” that voters re-elected him, and that the last four years have paid with a second term.

He said receiving more than two-thirds of the vote shows that people respect what he’s done.

Other winning candidates included Deveryn Ross in Ward 2, Craig Shanks in Ward 3, Norah Woychyshyn in Ward 9 and incumbents Shaun Cameron in Ward 4, Greg Hildebrand in Ward 5 and Tyson Tame in Ward 10. Incumbent Bruce Luebke was acclaimed in Ward 6.

Acting city clerk Alexis Sukaroff said the 11 council members — four of whom are new to the job — will start their terms with a swearing-in ceremony Monday evening.

Members will also be given training before the next council meeting on Nov. 16.

She said that meeting will focus more on organizational topics and general business will be “light.”

While there’s often a learning curve for new members, Sukaroff said the newly elected representatives all seem to be “very engaged” with the city, its government and administration.

“There’s legal backgrounds, financial backgrounds. So, I think we are at a really good footing for the council as a whole. But it will be a little trepidatious for the first period.”

» alambert@brandonsun.com