Gander, Corner Brook elect new mayors

New faces will be coming to several top municipal jobs in central and western regions of Newfoundland.

Gander, Bonavista and Corner Brook all chose new mayors in Tuesday's municipal election, while new councilorswill be joining council meetings in Marystown and Grand Falls-Windsor.

Communities all across the province voted in Tuesday's municipal election.

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Corner Brook

In Corner Brook, business consultant Jim Parsons upset incumbent candidate Charles Penderfor the mayor's chair.

Although he was a newcomer to municipal politics, Parsons took about 800 votes more than Pender, who was seeking his third term as mayor.

"There's a need for change, and I think we've seen from the voters that there's an appetite for change," Parsons said following his election on Tuesday night.

"We got a lot of ideas, we got a lot of connecting to do with the community. We really gotta sorta figure out a way to provide better customer service to Corner Brookers and I think, as well, we gotta jump start our path to a better reputation when it comes to business."

Also elected in Corner Brook were councillors:

• Vaughn Granter
• Bill Griffin
• Tony Buckle
• Josh Carey
• Linda Chaisson
• Bernd Staeben

Gander

Percy Farwell has won the race to replace long-time Gander Mayor Claude Elliott.

Farwellwon the Gander mayor's chair by more than 400 votes, beating out councillor Cyril Abbott and newcomer Frank Ireland, according to unofficial results from the town.

It was the first election in more than twenty years not to feature Claude Elliott's name on the ballott.

Farwellserved three terms on Gander's town council, before taking a break from politics in 2005. He will be joined by elected councillors:

• Tara Pollett
• Gina Brown
• Rob Anstey
• Oz Fudge
• Pat Woodford
• Brian Dove

Marystown

MarystownMayor Sam Synard says he feels "vindicated" by a victory in this year's municipal election.

Synard was re-elected over council challenger Lisa Slaneyin Tuesday's ballot for the mayor's chair in Marystown, according to unofficial results posted to the town's Facebook page.When he returns to the office, he will be accompanied by an entirely new slate of councillors.

Synardsaid it's a good step to return to normalcy for a town council he once called "dysfunctional."

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"Four years in Marystown, the last four years, is well documented. And it's been a rough four years, so I feel somewhat vindicated, I guess. To some degree," he said.

"The people have spoken, they've elected a whole new group of people I want to unite the community, and I want to move forward with good economic development and good municipal infrastructure."

Councillors elected in Marystown are:

• Michael Brennan
• Gary Myles
• Nora Tremblett
• Andrew Edwards
• Keith Keating
• Loretta Lewis

Bonavista

Property developer John Norman, head of BonavistaCreative, has entrenched further into Bonavista lifewith his election as town mayor.

Norman beat out Bev Dyke, an incumbent town councillor, in the race to succeed retiring mayor Betty Fitzgerald.

Fitzgerald was mayor of Bonavista for 20 years.

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Norman's Bonavista Creative has worked behind-the-scenes to help redevelop several heritage property buildings for businesses.

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He will be joined on Bonavista's new town council by:

• Reg Butler
• Stephen Chard
• Paul Mouland
• Lindsay Phillips
• Barry Randell
• Calvin Rolls

Grand Falls-Windsor

In Grand Falls-Windsor, incumbent Mayor Barry Manuel won his re-election handily over challenger Peggy Bartlett.

Manuel led Bartlett by about 3,000 votes in the unofficial totals posted by the town of Grand Falls-Windsor on Tuesday night.

Joining Manuel on council will be:

• Rod Bennett
• Mike Browne
• Amy Coady-Davis
• Shawn Feener
• Darren Finn
• Mark Whiffen

Election results from across central Newfoundland are being announced Tuesday night.For the latest results, follow CBC NL on Twitter.