Former Armstrong Mayor re-elected, hoping to reinstate confidence in council

“I thought I still had the energy and the leadership ability to try again, and here I am.”

Voters reinstalled the former mayor while also showing their community desired change, ousting all but two incumbent councillors.

Mayor
- Elected
  - Chris Pieper, 726 votes (45.6%)
- Not Elected
  - John Trainor, 469 votes (29.5%)
  - Joe Cramer (incumbent), 222 votes (13.9%)
  - Garhen Avalokiteshvara, 151 votes (9.5%)
Council
- Elected
  - Kristy McLennan, 887 votes (557%)
  - Jessie Valstar (incumbent), 749 votes, (47%)
  - Bradly Bourgeois, 627 votes (39.4%)
  - Paul Britton, 599 votes (37.6%)
  - Shirley Fowler (incumbent), 564 votes (35.4%)
  - Ray Baylis, 493 votes (31%)
- Not Elected
  - Mark Wehner (incumbent), 491 votes (30.8%)
  - Lyle Williamson, 466 votes (29.3%)
  - Mark Casson, 456 votes (28.6%)
  - Mike Babott, 440 votes (27.6%)
  - Steven Drapala (incumbent), 440 votes (27.6%)
  - Stephen Zopf, 437 votes (274%)
  - Neil Todd (incumbent), 411 votes (25.8%)
  - Andy Werner 320 votes (20.1%)
  - Kim Sinclair, 304 votes (19.1%)
  - Dale Bradley, 271 votes (17%)

“A few issues came up [during the campaign], the big ones being Pleasant Valley Boulevard and the bollards that are around town, and I think council got a clear message about what the community thinks about those two projects,” the Mayor-Elected stated while speaking with Vernon Matters.

“I think there was a need for change, but I think there was a lack of confidence as well in the community in how the city was doing stuff. I don’t think anyone was doing anything wrong, but I think communication could have been improved, and we will work on that going forward in the next term.”

Looking ahead, Pieper said his first priority would be to win back the public’s confidence so people feel comfortable and like they can approach council once again. Following that he would like to strengthen local partnerships, promote health care investments in the community, and tackle infrastructure projects.

The Mayor-Elect added he did not think the decision to have a provincial election fall one week after people cast ballots for their municipal representatives did not impact the campaigning, saying that in a small community like Armstrong people know each other fairly well and it was clear who was running for which role. However, he did add that the public was “ticked off” by the fact that there were two elections just a week apart.

The potential for a change in provincial government was unlikely to impact Armstrong’s operations, as Pieper said ministerial staff stay in their positions after an election and that’s who local leaders work directly with on joint projects.

The results of the 2026 local general election were preliminary as of time of publication.

by Liam Verster

Former Armstrong Mayor re-elected, hoping to reinstate confidence in council

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