Peter Jones swept the North Saanich mayoral race, receiving 58.7 per cent of the vote to defeat challengers Nancy Borden and Murray Weisenberger.
Jones and four of five elected councillors were endorsed by Save North Saanich, an advocacy group rallying against the district’s review of its Official Community Plan, a process it called an “unprecedented threat to North Saanich.”
The OCP review process has divided the community, with opponents seeing it as a flawed process and a threat to the district’s rural character, and proponents calling for more affordable housing and moderate densification. Rancor over the issue contributed to previous mayor Geoff Orr’s decision not to seek re-election.
Jones will be joined by councillor holdovers Jack McClintock, Celia Stock and Brett Smyth along with new arrivals Sanjiv Shrivastava, Irene Mcconkey and Phil DiBattista.
Save North Saanich also endorsed McClintock, Stock, Mcconkey and Shrivastava.
