Geeraert wins close Rockyford byelection

By John Watson Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Rockyford’s byelection has resolved and the unofficial results suggest April Geeraert will be joining the Village Council for a second term. 

According to Geeraert, the byelection was very back and forth as votes were counted, though ultimately, she came out five votes ahead of her counterpart, Charlotte Bencharski.

“It’s good, I was a little nervous when they were doing the results … but I made it,” said Geeraert. “Charlotte and I, we’re good friends, so we’re okay. We checked in on each other to see how each other felt and it was good.”

Geeraert took it upon herself to challenge the results of the original municipal election, which took place in October 2021, when it was discovered one vote had been illegally cast by mistake. There was a tie between the two candidates and the one unintended illegal vote could have changed the outcome of the election. 

“I started making phone calls, I called municipal affairs, I called Elections Alberta, I called anybody I could think of and everybody told me that I had to hire a lawyer to take this to court because there was no other proper way to fix the error,” said Geeraert.

The challenge then became finding a lawyer who would be affordable enough to help Geeraert take the issue to court.

Upon finally taking the dispute to court, the presiding judge ruled in favour of the byelection. Geeraert was reimbursed by the Village of Rockyford for roughly two-thirds of her overall court costs. 

Geeraert said she learned a lot from her first term on council and wished to continue being able to help serve her community. 

“I learned a lot about our bylaws and our infrastructure and how everything works around here. I’m not from Rockyford originally, I’ve only lived here for five years,” said Geeraert. “I just keep wanting to see where we go with infrastructure and replacing things and continuing to make Rockyford a better place.”

Her priorities for the current term include concerns regarding infrastructure and village cleanliness. 

“Just working with council and maybe getting properties cleaned up a little bit around here. I know that was a big thing we were pushing for near the end of my term last time.”

The official results of the byelection will be posted by the Village of Rockyford on March 18. The unofficial tally at the outcome of the byelection on March 14 is 41 votes to 36 in favour of Geeraert for council.