Julie Colborne is the mayor of Zeballos by acclamation.
Colborne ran unopposed. Incumbent councillors Candace Faulkner, Barb Lewis were also acclaimed along with newcomers Paul Brawn and Justin Janisse.
Below is the full list of mayoral and councillor candidates.
Candidates
Mayor
Julie Colborne
Council
Paul Brawn
Candace Faulkner (incumbent)
Justin Janisse
Barb Lewis (incumbent)
Boundary
The Village of Zeballos is a small community on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. It sits at the end of the Zeballos River delta and the tip of the Zeballos Inlet. The community is accessible from Highway 19 and is about 200 kilometres from Campbell River.
Population (2016)
107
History
Zeballos lies in the traditional territory of the Ehattesaht peoples, one of 14 Nuu-Chah-Nulth First Nations.
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The Zeballos Inlet was named by Spanish sea captain Alejandro Malaspina after one of his lieutenants, Ciriaco Cevallos, in 1792. Early Spanish exploration had focused on the nearby Nootka Sound area.
European settlement began in earnest in the early 1930s, after a rich gold deposit was discovered in the region. Early miners hauled ore from nearby hills down to the inlet where it was shipped out by sea.
By the end of the decade, the community had grown to an estimated size of more than 1,500 people. However, the outbreak of World War Two saw much of the town’s population called to service, and by 1942 all of the mines in the area were shuttered.
At the conclusion of the war, the price of gold was fixed at $35 per ounce — not enough to justify the reopening of the mines.
The 1950s and 1960s saw the growth of logging in the area and the short-lived opening of a new iron mine. Several failed attempts were made to reopen the region’s largest gold mine in the 1970s and 1980s.
In 2004, the village made national headlines when 13-year-old First Nations girl Kayla John was murdered, sparking a conversation about rural Indigenous issues and small-town policing. Her neighbour, 21-year-old George Osmond, was later convicted and sentenced to life in prison.
Today, forestry and fishing dominate the local economy, with the village also serving as a popular jump-off spot for ecotourists and anglers.
Political representation
Federal
Rachel Blaney (NDP)
Provincial
Claire Trevena (BC NDP)
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