B.C. municipal election 2018: Wells results

Gabe Fourchalk has been elected as mayor for the District of Wells.

Incumbent Mandy Kilsby will return to council. Joining her are Ksenya Dorwart, Jordan Rohatynski and Chris Cooley.

Candidates

Mayor:

Gabe Fourchalk

Lindsay Kay

Council:

Chris Cooley

Ksenya Dorwart

Mandy Kilsby (incumbent)

Birch Kuch (incumbent)

Caleb MacMillan

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Jordan Rohatynski

Boundary

Wells is located in central British Columbia, about 75 kilometres east of Quesnel on Highway 26.

Population (2016)

217

History

The District of Wells is a small Cariboo community that owes its existence to a pair of gold rushes.

European settlement in the area began in earnest in the 1860s when thousands of people descended on nearby Barkerville — now a “ghost town,” museum and national historic site — in search of gold.

Half a century later, the search for gold revitalized the area, this time after prospector Fred Wells struck ore in the 1930s. The current Wells townsite was subsequently established as a company town for workers in the Cariboo Gold Quartz Mine.

Wells reached a population of about 4,500, its largest ever, in the 1940s, and was for a time one of northern B.C.’s largest communities.

However, the closure of the mines in 1967 led to a steep decline in population.

Tourism now forms a major part of Wells’ economy, and the town is known for its gold-rush aesthetics and quaint buildings.

Median after-tax income of households (2015)/B.C. median

$39,808/$111,736

Political representation

Federal

Todd Doherty (Conservative)

Provincial

Coralee Oakes (BC Liberal)