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Chilliwack trustee Heather Maahs thanks ousted colleagues for years of service

Maahs had kind words for Barry Neufeld and Darrell Furgason, who fell short of re-election
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When the dust settled on municipal election night (Oct. 15), right-leaning candidates were looking up at their progressive rivals.

Incumbent Heather Maahs secured re-election, along with newcomer Richard Procee, but Maahs’ longtime school board allies, Barry Neufeld and Darrell Furgason, weren’t close.

Furgason finished 10th. Neufeld finished 12th in a field of 15. Neufeld was the face of anti-SOGI politics in Chilliwack and voters buried him.

In her first public comments following the election, Maahs sidestepped the political implications of the results.

“It’s not my job to interpret anything,” she told The Progress. “It’s my job to serve the community at their behest which is a honour and privilege.

“I am disappointed in the low voter turn out.”

RELATED: Chilliwack voter turnout for the 2022 election was only 23 per cent

RELATED: Progressive school board candidates take 5-2 majority in Chilliwack municipal election

On her Facebook trustee page, Maahs credited Neufeld and Furgason for years of service.

“Being a public servant isn’t easy and it requires much personal sacrifice,” she wrote. “So in that vein, my most sincere thanks to these two men whom I served along side for the last four years, and 10 years respectively.”

Maahs congratulated progressive candidates Carin Bondar, Willow Reichelt, David Swankey, Margaret Reid and Teri Westerby and offered comfort for the candidates who weren’t elected.

“There really is no other job that is more important that working towards the best education we can give our precious children,” she said. “Don’t tell council but I honestly believe what we do is a far more important contribution to society. Kaethe Jones, Elliott Friesen, Brian Vangarderen, Greg Nelmes and Darren Ollinger all the best for your future endeavours and maybe see you on the trail next term.

“And can I say, ‘Thank God that it’s all over!’”


@ProgressSports
eric.welsh@theprogress.com

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Eric Welsh

About the Author: Eric Welsh

I joined the Chilliwack Progress in 2007, originally hired as a sports reporter.
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