Image by hessiebell via Flickr

As of 10:15 pm:
With 10 of 148 ballot boxed reporting, BC-STV has earned only 44% of the vote so far. 60% of the provincial popular vote is required for the electoral reform referendum to be passed.
Currently, provincial popular support for BC-STV is about 39%, a blow for BC-STV supporters. Major news outlets have called the defeat of the initiative.

Video is up for last Wednesday’s all-candidates’ meeting, courtesy of David Maidman of Pumpkinhead Productions.
Part one:

Introductions
Regional transportation & the North Fraser Perimeter Road (5:00))
Food security, lower carbon footprint & healthier population (10:02)

New Westminster All-Candidates Meeting, May 6th, 2009 7-9pm from David Maidman on Vimeo.
Part two:

Provincial support for New West waterfront park
Improvements to Royal Columbian hospital (4:06)
Provincial funding for New West schools (8:49)

New Westminster All-Candidates Meeting, May 6th, 2009 7-9pm from David Maidman on Vimeo.

As previously mentioned, Tenth To The Fraser is collaborating with New Westminster Environmental Partners and the BIA to organize New West’s only all-candidates’ meeting this election.
NWEP has asked us to provide them with some questions for the candidates, but we thought we’d turn it over to you, our readers: What would you like to ask Dawn Black, Carole Millar and Matthew Laird before you vote?
Leave a comment with your question, or send us a Tweet @10thtothefraser.
As a reminder, the all-candidates meeting is Wednesday, May 6, 7-9pm at …

Eagerly awaiting the last official results of the 2008 New Westminster civic elections, we are pleased to relay that the judicial recount for the position of school trustee has been completed. In a message this afternoon from New Westminster Deputy Chief Electoral Officer Doris Fassbender, the results were announced:

Following a two day judicial recount at the BC Provincial Court, New Westminster Registry, Judge Her Honour Alexander declared the results for the office of School Trustee for the 2008 General Local Election for the City of New …

Who really won the recent New Westminster 2008 municipal election? Not us, because we are a bunch of chumps that can’t make it to out to stuff a slip of paper into a box. Do we harbour some long hidden fears of elementary school gymnasiums? Terror at the nasty chance of an electoral paper cut?
Our manifest idiocy has not gone unnoticed by the scribbling classes. Even here, at Tenth to the Fraser, we have noted our past 26.2% participation lameness. Now, with renewed evidence of our callous disregard for our …

Now that the dust has settled and the result is no different than last election (Is it just me or does anyone else have deja vu from October?), perhaps there’s no wonder that a proportion of New Westminster’s citizens voted (in a completely non-binding way) to increase the electoral cycle from 3 years to 4 – perhaps this proportion of the population believes that since nothing will change, why go to the expense to have elections so frequently?
I’m sure that in the coming weeks, editors, electors and candidates will toss …

Despite a well-organized campaign by the Voice party to convince voters New Westminster needs profound change, the resounding public response has been a polite, “No thank you.” Unofficial election results show only one new face on council: 12th Street booster, longtime Douglas College Student Union leader, Save St. Mary’s Hospital organizer and antipoverty activist Jaimie McEvoy, who appears to have stolen the seat of our longest-serving councillor, Calvin Donnelly . Donnelly has been a city councillor for 18 years, since first elected in 1981 (according to the city website’s official bio …

All polls reporting: so far, results show Wayne Wright still has the ‘Wright’ stuff (har de har har). Blair Armitage appears to be out of luck.
Council results so far:

Jonathan Cote
Lorrie Williams
Betty McIntosh
Bill Harper
Bob Osterman
Jaimie McEvoy

School Board:

Casey Cook
Lorrie Watt
Lisa Graham
Jim Goring
Michael Ewen
James Janzen
Brent Atkinson

If you’re looking for information on civic election results as they roll in, here are a few sites to check (I am watching and will post New West information as I see it as well):

City of New West official results on the website.
Lots of chatter on Twitter. Do some keyword searches (”civic” seems to work well, and you can also try “new westminster”), or follow me @10thtothefraser (I will retweet any New West-related info as I see it). 
The New Westminster Record is posting updates online . As of 8:20pm, Wayne Wright had …

As previously announced, we, as the authors of this blog, have decided to endorse a slate of candidates for Mayor, Council and School Trustee. We have tried to pay close attention to the political events and articles in the local paper but, we are ordinary citizens and we have no insider’s knowledge of the various alliances that our local candidates may have with each other. This is our endorsement as independent folks and this is our blog so… these are the endorsed candidates for Tenth to the Fraser:
Mayoral Candidate: Wayne …