A court hearing has been announced to begin the legal process that will determine who will be mayor in Peachland.
On election night this past Saturday, incumbent mayor Cindy Fortin lost by only one vote to challenger Harry Gough. However, a recount found that the vote produced a tie, with Fortin and Gough receiving 804 votes each.
The District of Peachland made an application this week for a judicial recount of the ballots. The hearing for the application will take place Friday, October 26th, 11:30 a.m., at the provincial courthouse in Kelowna. All mayoral candidates, their official agents and legal counsel of the candidates are entitled to be present at the hearing. The hearing will be open to the public as well.
The date and time for the recount must happen before November 2nd.
According to the District of Peachland, at the completion of the judicial recount, if the result is still a tie, a draw will take place. The court will oversee the process. The court will direct a person who is not a candidate or candidate representative to make the draw, with the winner being named mayor.