The new Mayor of Ritchot says he was blown away by the support he felt in Wednesday's by-election.

Chris Ewen of Ile des Chenes took 742 votes, beating his closest competitor, who happened to be former Mayor Jackie Hunt, by 92 votes. Ewen says even though he knocked on two thousand doors during his campaign, he felt uneasy Wednesday morning. But, his Campaign Manager told him to be proud of the hard work he put in, even if he garnered only a handful of votes.

"Then to see the amount of voters in Ile des Chenes come out or Grande Pointe, even Howden or those towns come out and support me, just so humbling and I'm so thankful," says Ewen. "I'm going to make sure I can prove to people that I am the guy for the job."

Ewen says the top issue expressed by voters while on the campaign trail centered around the frustration of failed government in the municipality. As the new Mayor, he says he hopes to accomplish transparency, availability and to keep Council together.

"That's what I'm going to do," he says. "That's my promise to the constituents of Ritchot."

Ewen says the turmoil of the former Council, which led to the resignation of the Mayor and two Councillors is in the past and it is time to move on.

Ewen takes over as Mayor without any prior political experience, but he says that is a conversation he has already had with many people. His response to that is that whenever you start a new job, you will never be fully experienced. But Ewen says he has knowledge from his history in business and is surrounded by a great team of Councillors.

"We're going to get along great," says Ewen. "We're going to get some great things happening for Ritchot and I'm really proud of what's to come."

For Ewen, his first order of business is to remove all of his election signs. But he says as government, their first task is to approve a budget.

Wednesday's election produced a voter turnout of 39 percent. Ewen says considering it was a by-election and considering it happened mid-summer, that percentage shows candidates did a great job of convincing residents that it is time for change.

"I just want to thank everyone for the support," shares Ewen. "I really appreciate everyone for coming out to vote and the more we vote the more we have a say in what we do with our government."

Meanwhile, Mitch Duval is back as Chief Administrative for Ritchot. Roger Bouvier has officially been relieved of his duties as Administrator.

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