Ken Baird has been elected the new chief of the Tsawwassen First Nation.
He came out on top in a two-way race against incumbent Bryce Williams in Saturday's election for chief for the next three-year term.
He won with 86 votes to the 78 Williams received.
In addition to Baird, 13 members were voted to the legislature. The top four vote recipients to the legislature join the Executive Council.
According to the TFN, due to a six-way tie for 10th place, and following a recount with identical results, a draw was held to determine the 10th through 13th positions. It was done in accordance with TFN election laws, according to the First Nation.
A total of 318 members were eligible to vote, of a population of 491 members. Many members don't reside at the First Nation.
A total of 175 members voted for a voter turnout of 55 per cent. Almost 70 votes were submitted by mail-in ballot.
"I believe our priorities should be our youth and elders. I am mature and have a lot of experience and think I could really help our community move forward. I have proven to be honest, reliable and dependable...The role of chief is a serious job and I am up for the task," Baird stated prior to the vote.
Elected to the legislature are Jesseca Adams, Louise Ahlm, Mike Baird, Laura Cassidy, Valerie Cross-Blackett, Kathy Genge, Andrea Jacobs, Nikki Jacobs, Steven Stark, Loretta (Law) Williams, Sheila Williams, Tia Williams and Victoria (Skosswunson) Williams.
Bryce Williams was elected chief in September of 2012, defeating six-term incumbent Kim Baird in what was considered by many outside the TFN at the time as an upset. Ken Baird will be the third chief in the TFN post-treaty era
The TFN government is entering its fifth mandate since its historic treaty was signed in 2009 and the landscape has certainly changed since then.
Its big shopping centres, Tsawwassen Mills and Tsawwassen Commons opened in 2016.
Housing developments, meanwhile, are now well underway on both sides of Highway 17 including the Tsawwassen Shores by Aquilini Development, which is building in phases and has people already taking up residence. Onni Group plans to build a range of homes as well as Mosaic.
The TFN land use plan approved by members will see over 2,800 homes to be built with Tsawwassen Shores comprising 850 of those units. About 8,000 new residents will eventually call the TFN home, although only TFN members are eligible to vote in its government elections.
The TFN is also seeing its industrial lands developed with a new business park aimed at easing the growing demand for warehousing and logistics centres in the Lower Mainland.
The biggest development, so far, is a 23-hectare (57-acre) parcel leased to Great West Life for a 1.3-million-square-feet of logistics warehousing.
Among the new tenants at the TFN are Amazon, which last fall announced it would open a 450,000-square-foot fulfillment centre, while Canada Border Services Agency opened a container inspection facility. When fully built out, the industrial developments are expected to generate an estimated $245 million in annual income for TFN.
