James Murdock won in a landslide on Wednesday night to become Moose Jaw’s 42nd mayor.
Murdock took home 63.7 per cent of the vote with 5,437 votes. The next closest contender with Crystal Froese with 1,439 votes, a difference of 3,998 votes.
Speaking after the election, Murdock said it was truly an honour to be elected the mayor of Moose Jaw.
“I’m looking forward to this. I’m looking forward to representing the community with fresh ideas and thoughts and just being the voice for them,” Murdock said.
He said that during his first 30 days, his goal wants to build a relationship with the newly-elected city council and forming a team as it will not be the effort of just one person.
“Really just with tonight, with everything taking place as it has, I think it’s going to take a few days for everything to set in, but I’m looking forward to being a part of working with a good team,” Murdock said of his goals for the first 100 days in office.
It will be a steep learning curve for the new mayor. One of the first priorities will be budget deliberations. Murdock said he is looking forward to taking it all in.
“I will be paying lots of attention and my ears will be wide open and I know that there may be some challenges, but I think working with the good city administration that we have and our new elected councillors that we will try and do the best we can,” Murdock said.
This will be Murdock’s first forge into politics. He is the former owner of the Moose Jaw Funeral Home and has been very active in the community, including a co-founder of River Street Promotions that puts on annual fundraisers like the Homestand outdoor concert at Ross Wells Park.
Also running for mayor during Wednesday night’s election was incumbent Clive Tolley who finished third with 601 votes. Mike Simpkins finished with 571 votes, while outgoing city councillor Kim Robinson finished with 494 votes.
These are preliminary numbers. The declaration of the official election results will be released by the city on Friday at 11 a.m.
Murdock will be sworn in, along with the new city council, at a special meeting on Monday at 4 p.m. at council chambers.