Blaine Hyggen wins squeaker to become next Lethbridge mayor
Blaine Hyggen is the new mayor of Lethbridge after narrowly defeating former councillor Bridget Mearns Monday night.
Hyggen received 11, 973 votes to Mears' 11, 465.
He takes over from outgoing mayor Chris Spearman, who stepped down after two terms in office.
"I’m at a loss for words," Hyggen said in an interview with CTV News Monday night. "There’s a lot going through my head. We started off the night where I was behind by just 11 votes in this election and it happened to kick in a few more polls and it came up from there and I’m extremely excited.
"It made for an exciting evening, that’s for sure.”
He said his first priority will be to reach out to other members of Lethbridge council.
“I’m definitely going to connect with my fellow councillors and let’s just find out exactly what their thoughts are," he said. "We do have four new and four incumbents so it’s important to find out what they’re thinking for the next four years and definitely get together and collaborate.”
He also congratulated Mearns, a former two-term councillor, for a competitive effort.
“I had the opportunity of working with Bridget for over three and a half years and Bridget is a contender, I’ll tell you what. We had a great campaign, together. She was very strong and she needs to be recognized for that because I’ve got nothing but respect for Bridget.”
With files from Sean Marks, CTV Lethbridge
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
After hearing thousands of last words, this hospital chaplain has advice for the living
Hospital chaplain J.S. Park opens up about death, grief and hearing thousands of last words, and shares his advice for the living.
WHO likely to issue wider alert on contaminated cough syrup
The World Health Organization is likely to issue a wider warning about contaminated Johnson and Johnson-made children's cough syrup found in Nigeria last week, it said in an email.
WATCH Video shows dramatic police takedown of carjacking suspects chased through parking lot north of Toronto
Police have released video footage of a dramatic takedown of a group of teens wanted in connection with an attempted carjacking in Markham earlier this month.
Canada, G7 urge 'all parties' to de-escalate in growing Mideast conflict
Canada called for 'all parties' to de-escalate rising tensions in the Mideast following an apparent Israeli drone attack against Iran overnight.
'It was all my savings': Ontario woman loses $15K to fake Walmart job scam
A woman who recently moved to Canada from India was searching for a job when she got caught in an online job scam and lost $15,000.
Families to receive Canada Child Benefit payment on Friday
More money will land in the pockets of some Canadian families on Friday for the latest Canada Child Benefit installment.
After COVID, WHO defines disease spread 'through air'
The World Health Organization and around 500 experts have agreed for the first time on what it means for a disease to spread through the air, in a bid to avoid the confusion early in the COVID-19 pandemic that some scientists have said cost lives.
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer denied bail after being charged with killing Canadian couple
American millionaire Jonathan Lehrer, one of two men charged in the killings of a Canadian couple in Dominica, has been denied bail.