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McMurdo and Cripps elected to council and school board in Oct. 13 byelection

Braden McMurdo and Li Cripps were elected to Thompson city council and the School District of Mystery Lake board, respectively, in a municipal byelection Oct. 13.
Braden McMurdo, left, was elected to Thompson city council in an Oct. 13 byelection while Li Cripps,
Braden McMurdo, left, was elected to Thompson city council in an Oct. 13 byelection while Li Cripps, right, was elected to the School District of Mystery Lake board.

Braden McMurdo and Li Cripps were elected to Thompson city council and the School District of Mystery Lake board, respectively, in a municipal byelection Oct. 13.

Running against four other candidates for the council spot, McMurdo garnered 355 of 1,093 votes, beating former councillor and three-time mayoral candidate Ron Matechuk by 62 votes. Kathleen Bluesky finished third with 280 votes. Jason Bayer received 117 votes and David Kobliski 48.

“It is with gratitude and excitement that I accept this endorsement from my hometown to sit on city council,” McMurdo said in an emailed statment.  “I will do my best to represent all the people of Thompson to the best of my abilities and I want to thank each person that voted for me. Congrats to the other candidates on well-run campaigns and regards to the late Judy Kolada whose seat I am to fill and who served the city with distinction for many years. I am proud to be from Thompson and prouder still to represent the people of our great little northern city.”

Cripps received 630 of the 1,084 ballots in the two-candidate SDML trustee byelection, while Bryan Young received 454. She replaces trustee Samantha Chartrand, who resigned.

“I want to thank everyone who voted for me and especially my friend, professor Ying Kong, who campaigned hard for me,” Cripps told the Thompson Citizen. “Now I have to learn quickly about the job.”

1,104 Thompson residents cast ballots in the byelection, 14.8 per cent of those eligible to vote, about 7,400 people in total. 

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