The Tsawwassen First Nation has a new chief.
Bryce Williams defeated incumbent Kim Baird in the First Nation's election Wednesday.
Williams, a carver in his early 20s who was a member of the TFN executive council, edged Baird 78 to 69 for the stunning victory.
He was Baird's only challenger in the race.
TFN voters also selected 12 members for their legislature.
Unchallenged in the previous election, Baird, who was first elected in 1999, was seeking a seventh term as chief.
Following the vote, the 42-yearold simply announced on Twitter: "I lost."
She helped negotiate B.C.'s first urban treaty and was at the helm for announcements of major development projects that will change the face of her First Nation as well as the region if they come to fruition.
In a recent newsletter highlighting her government's many initiatives, Baird noted they were looking for ways to improve communication within the organization and community-wide.
"It's no secret that when we are pushing on so many fronts, some things may slip between the cracks. I think our main focus in the short term is to try to stabilize our organization. We have many vacancies and the need to implement the organizational efficiency review we undertook. This is not only important for the workload of our existing staff, but also to provide better services to the community," she said.
Saying it's clear her community was undergoing many changes, Baird noted the other short-term focus needed to be getting some projects underway and some revenue generated. That requires finalization of infrastructure, primarily sewer and roadwork, she said.
In an interview with the Optimist last December, Baird said there were "mixed feelings" among TFN members about the rapid changes.
It's not clear how the election of Williams as chief will impact some of the ambitious growth plans put forward by his predecessor.
In a recent community bulletin, it was noted that during a members' retreat, a "very frank and useful discussion" about treaty distributions was started.
In total, 260 TFN members were eligible to vote from the population of 439. A total of 148 members cast a ballot, for a turnout of 57 per cent.
Those elected to the legislature include Tony Jacobs, Karl Morgan, Sheila Williams, Ken Baird, Jessica Adams, Louise Ahlm, Laura Cassidy, Melinda Cassidy, Andrea Jacobs, Nikki Jacobs, Marvin Joe and Steven Stark. The first four are also members of the executive council.
The new chief, legislators and executive council will be sworn in Sept. 22 as the Tsawwassen government begins its second three-year term.
This week's vote was the second since the historic 2007 treaty that gave Tsawwassen the powers of self-government, while freeing up hundreds of acres from the Agricultural Land Reserve for residential, commercial and industrial development.
The legislature usually meets twice a week over a one-to two-month session, which is held once or twice a year. The executive council, which also includes the chief, meets weekly to manage day-to-day operations.
BY SANDOR GYARMATI [email protected]
